ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a vivid picture of the economic, political and social drivers between the European Union (EU) and China, and analyzes economic agreements and policy papers issued between 1973 and 2013. The European public debate deals with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and a series of other treaties. The most important treaty will be EU-wide international investment agreement (IIA) with China. The wide range of issues open for negotiation in the IIA includes definition of investment, the standard of treatment such as most-favoured nation, national treatment, full protection and security, fair and equitable treatment, direct and indirect expropriation, investor–state dispute settlement and state-to-state dispute settlement. The chapter focuses on the EU–China relations in respect to regional economic governance and also analyzes the general economic strategy carried out from the EU in Asia. The EU and China in the course of their negotiations have settled considerable issues that will not give rise to further debate in their respective positions.
