Hope for negotiations despite the ongoing dispute over solar panels
China and the European Union may launch negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty, despite their ongoing dispute over solar panels.
Zhang Haiyan, a professor of EU-China investment and trade at Antwerp Management School in Belgium, said: "Both Brussels and Beijing have already signaled their eagerness in kick-starting such an investment negotiation but it is not easy to forecast how soon it will be concluded."
EU foreign ministers have put the possibility of an agreement between Beijing and Brussels on the discussion agenda at Friday's meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxemburg.
At the meeting, European Commission free trade negotiators have a mandate to negotiate an agreement between Brussels and Washington on combining a free trade market of 800 million people.
The foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states have also discussed the solar panel anti-dumping dispute, with Beijing and Brussels striving to reach negotiated prices for China's solar exports.
Brussels accuses China of dumping the panels on the EU at reduced cost, claiming Chinese manufacturers are receiving unfair government subsidies.
If no compromise is reached by Aug 6, the European Commission will raise the temporary anti-dumping penalty to 47.6 percent from 11.8 percent.
Zhang, a long-time observer of China-EU economic and trade relations, is certain any talks will turn into a marathon wrangle.
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