Understanding The Trends

The 16th European Union-China summit – the first involving China's new generation of leaders – drew to a close in Beijing on November 21, with a number of announcements which have the potential to take the relationship forward to a new stage.

The headlines were agreement to a 2020 target for EU-China trade of US$ 1 trillion, up from US$ 546 billion in 2012, and an agreement that the two sides would negotiate an EU-China investment agreement to try and promote higher levels of foreign direct investment in both directions. The summit also agreed on an Agenda 2020 document, setting out a wide range of issues on which the two sides have agreed to work over the coming years.