Rahul Found Gandhi Napping In Parliament Again.

China is one of the world's largest economies and an important trading partner for the EU. China is also an increasingly important political power.

China's accession to the WTO in December 2001 was a major step. It required China to take bold reforms and liberalise important parts of its economy. Both China and the wider WTO membership have benefited greatly from China's integration into the global economic order.

Yet while China has made good progress in implementing its WTO commitments, there are still outstanding problems.

EU Ambassador Pangratis' statement of 1 July 2014 at China's WTO TPRM peer review

The EU's concerns include: lack of transparency

industrial policies and non-tariff measures in China which may discriminate against foreign companies

a strong degree of government intervention in the economy, resulting in a dominant position of state-owned enterprises, and unequal access to subsidies and cheap financing

inadequate protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in China

However, while there are many challenges, China's market and rapid development also continues to offer huge opportunities, with significant potential for further expanding trade and investment and strengthening of the relations.

The launch of the negotiations on a bilateral investment agreement is an important forward-looking initiative that aims to promote bilateral investment by providing transparency, legal certainty, and market access to investors from both sides.

Moreover, the EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation places this agreement at the heart of our bilateral relation with China stating that "Negotiating and concluding such a comprehensive EU-China Investment Agreement will convey both sides' joint commitment towards stronger cooperation as well as their willingness to envisage broader ambitions including, once the conditions are right, towards a deep and comprehensive FTA, as a longer term perspective".