The characteristics of China’s investment in Europe
Yang et al. in this paper analyze the characteristics of China’s investment in Europe. They used data from Thomson Reuters information system as a primary source and analyzed 1,172 M&A cases conducted by China in the EU between 2000 and 2019. Their main findings include:
- EU’s share of China’s overseas direct investment has continued to increase until recently. But, the number of China’s M&As in the EU decreased to 113 in 2019 from a maximum of 206 in 2016, showing fluctuation largely in line with China’s overall trend of overseas investment;
- Investment in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) is gradually increasing, although it is still insignificant compared to the top five destinations in the EU, namely Netherlands, UK, Germany, Luxembourg and France. In particular, investment in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom represents 49.5 percent in terms of number of cases and 74.3 percent in terms of amount invested;
- China’s investment in the EU is being made in pursuit of innovation in manufacturing and to acquire high-tech technologies.
China’s FDI in Europe and Europe’s Policy Response
Authors: Pyeong Seob Yang, Cheol-Won Lee, Su Yeob Na, Tae Hyun Oh, Youngsun Kim, Hyung Jun Yoon, Yoo-Duk Kang
From: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
The CPTPP and EU
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is an important pillar for ensuring a rules-based, market-orientated trade environment in East Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region. China’s formal request to accede to the CPTPP, made in September 2021, poses difficult questions for the future of the club, with the potential to sow divisions in the existing membership on the way forward. The EU, on the other hand, has remained absent from the debate despite the fact that it is the primary source of foreign direct investment and development assistance into the Indo-Pacific region, and the second largest trading partner for countries in Southeast Asia, behind only China.
In this policy brief, Naoise McDonagh argues for a potential European CPTPP accession.
Joining the CPTPP would offer Brussels a tangible link between its Indo-Pacific strategy and its trade diplomacy — the domain where EU institutional agency is strongest. In the absence of US leadership on regional trade policy, existing CPTPP member states would stand to benefit economically and geopolitically from Europe playing a more proactive role in the region’s multilateral trade architecture. In the long term, and if managed correctly, it may even work to incentivise the return of the United States to the CPTPP.
The Missing Anchor: Why the EU Should Join the CPTPP
Authors: Naoise McDonagh
From: Institute for International Trade
