China,EU Complete Negotiations for China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment

China， EU Complete Negotiations for China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment

On the evening of December 30， 2020， President Xi Jinping held a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel， French President Emmanuel Macron， President of the European Council Charles Michel， and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing via video link. The Chinese and EU leaders jointly announced that the negotiations for the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment（CAI） were completed as scheduled.

Xi pointed out that China and the EU concluded a balanced， highstandard， and mutually beneficial investment agreement. It shows Chinas determination and confidence to push high-level opening-up， and will provide broader market access， a better business environment， stronger institutional guarantees， and brighter cooperation prospects for mutual investment between China and the EU. It will also greatly boost global economic recovery during the post-pandemic era， enhance the international communitys confidence in economic globalization and free trade， and enable the Chinese and EU markets to make important contributions to building an open world economy.

The European leaders said that the announcement of the completion of the EU-China CAI negotiations is an important milestone in the development of EU-China relations. It shows to the world again that although Europe and China have differences on some issues， both sides have the political will to strengthen dialogue and deepen cooperation on the basis of mutual respect to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

Wang Yi Meets with ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi

On January 14， 2021， State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi in Bandar Seri Begawan， the capital of Brunei.

Wang Yi said， China-ASEAN relations are the most vibrant and fruitful among ASEANs relations with all its dialogue partners， and have grown into a crucial pillar of regional peace， stability， development， and prosperity. Noting that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue relations， he expressed hopes that both sides could avail this opportunity to launch serial celebratory events， effectively implement the fiveyear action plan， elevate the China-ASEAN relations， and cultivate a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

Wang Yi said， China stands ready to improve the level of public health cooperation with ASEAN， engage in vaccine cooperation with more ASEAN countries， jointly forge the Blue Economy Partnership， work together to offer a Year of Sustainable Development Cooperation， and step up cooperation in digital economy， people-to-people exchanges， and other fields.

Lim Jock Hoi said， ASEAN-China relations are of great significance to ASEAN. He indicated that this year ASEAN will focus on poverty alleviation， disaster prevention and mitigation， as well as sustainable development， and is willing to strengthen cooperation and capacity building with China in relevant fields to help achieve the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. ASEAN is committed to maintaining a free， open， and rules-based free trade system， and supports member states in deepening cooperation with China to accelerate regional economic recovery.

Chinese FMs Africa Trip， Testament to Rock-Solid Friendship

China-Africa friendship remains rock-solid and stable， regardless of the international situation they face and what difficulties， obstacles， or disruptions they encounter， said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Wang made the remarks during an interview with Peoples Daily as he concluded his New Year visits to five African nations on January 9， namely Nigeria， the Democratic Republic of the Congo， Botswana， Tanzania， and Seychelles.

During his trip to Africa， Wang held meetings respectively with leaders and foreign ministers from the five African countries， during which they agreed to further uphold the spirit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation （FOCAC）， and carry out in-depth exchanges over follow-ups to the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19.

Wang noted that China will fulfill its firm commitment that its vaccines will be provided as a global public good， and stands ready to cooperate with African countries on COVID-19 vaccines and make them more accessible and affordable in Africa.

Some leaders of African countries， including the president of Seychelles， said they will be among the first to take a vaccine from China.

In boosting Africas industrialization and home-grown production capacity， Wang said China is willing to make joint efforts with Africa to strengthen strategic alignment and build consensus on cooperation in line with the expectations of African countries， and push forward the joint building of the Belt and Road between China and Africa.