CLOSING ARGUMENTS: CHINA-EU GET CLOSER, AFGHAN PEACE FADES China-EU: Trade Agreement Leaves US Behind

摘要

The conclusion of a major trade agreement between the EU and China, known as the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), leaves the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden on the back foot when it comes to containing China's geopolitical clout. The CAI, when combined with last year's Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade megadeal with 14 other Asia-Pacific economies, puts China in a solid position to challenge the US as a global economic superpower. Both deals further China's global economic reach at the expense of a US approach that has traditionally sought to link any expansion of economic relations between China and the West to changes in China's human rights record and protective trade policies.