EU withdraws from signing the Belt and Road deal with China

The EU has not signed the EU-China Belt and Road trade deal, as the document does not include commitments to social and environmental sustainability and transparency, the European Commission spokesman Daniel Rosario said. He added, that the EU supports the project, which would benefit economic growth in the Eurasia region, but could not sign the deal. “We made clear that, for Europe, the Belt and Road initiative can only be a success if it’s based on transparency and co-ownership,” said one high-level EU diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Apparently to Chinese surprise, the EU was united on this.” The Belt and Road initiative, dubbed as the “new silk road” is a $124 billion plan, which aims to bolster China's global leadership ambitions by expanding infrastructure between Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond. “People in Europe are just asking for reciprocity. Nothing more,” European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said, explaining that if the deal was to be signed EU companies would have to get the same access to the Chinese market, as the EU markets were open to Chinese investment. “Something must change now. Also, taking into account what President Xi has said, it would be not that encouraging if the (EU-China) summit would not deliver even though the political will has been expressed so directly several times,” he said.