China mentioned shortly after its talks with the European Union that it has made significant progress in establishing a major trade deal. However, an EU spokesman mentioned to reporters after the high-stakes meeting that the bloc is currently in no rush to seal a trade deal as it apparently does not want a rushed agreement.
The meeting between the top officials from both sides concluded on Thursday, with the major topic of discussion being the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). Attending the high-stake meetings were Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and European Union diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini.
Shortly after the meeting, Li told reporters that he hoped to have a trade agreement in place between China and the EU. The premier elaborated that the country wants to sign a deal that is based on trust, multilateralism, and free trade as soon as possible.
China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, expressed much of the same sentiment and mentioned that he was confident that a deal will be made given the progress of the negotiations.
The EU delegation office's spokesman in Beijing told reporters that the EU is not at all interested in a rushed deal and prefers to have a "good" and well-ironed out an agreement instead. Representatives from both parties are expected to conduct their next round of talks in early November.
Apart from the agreement, the meeting in Beijing also included discussions on different regional and international issues that currently affect both parties. According to Mogherini, the EU apparently sees its relations with China as a big priority.
The bloc hopes to forge closer ties with China to strengthen their collaborative efforts to tackle international issues such as climate change and Iran's nuclear program.
Analysts have pointed out that striking a major trade deal is vital for both parties given the current geopolitical states. China needs to have good trade relations with the EU given its ongoing trade dispute with the United States.
Similarly, a trade deal with China will be a big win for the EU given its own disputes with the United States.
The EU is currently China's biggest trading partner. The trade between both parties is estimated to be valued at around $1.89 billion per day.
Meanwhile, China is currently the EU's second-largest trading partner, right behind the United States.
Coming up with a comprehensive trade deal between both parties will be a slippery slope given the various issues that have to be addressed.
For instance, the EU wants to push China to address issues such as industrial overcapacity and overly-strict policies, while China could demand more access to EU markets and less internal affairs meddling.
