Norbert Röttgen: EU investment agreement with China is "alarming"

The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag, Norbert Röttgen, has serious concerns about the investment agreement between China and the European Union.

Berlin - The agreed regulations on forced labor are "alarming", said the candidate for the CDU party chairmanship in the Handelsblatt (Thursday edition). In this area there should be no tolerance from the European side, especially since it is clear that it is about the labor camps in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. "If China only has to commit to 'efforts', then one accepts that forced labor is taking place," criticized Röttgen.

That is unacceptable: "It is inconceivable that the EU concludes a treaty in which forced labor is implicitly accepted," said the Christian Democrat. A comprehensive assessment of the deal has not yet been possible because many details remain unclear and the text is not available. It is unclear how far the prospect of market access really goes for European companies.

"It would be important that the public procurement system in China is taken into account and that European companies can make investments here," said Röttgen. This is precisely what the agreement does not provide, however, because the Chinese have remained tough.

Source: DerNewsticker