On May 9,Tang Xiaobing,a senior consultant at Gaopeng Law Firm,was invited to give a keynote speech at the"2021 China Europe Investment and Legal Leaders Forum",which was highly praised by the participants.

Tang first comprehensively reviewed the relationship between the multilateral trading system of GATT and WTO and investment,and introduced the"investment facilitation"negotiations in WTO.The main contents of the future WTO Investment Facilitation Agreement include:transparency of investment measures,simplification and acceleration of administrative procedures,liaison/liaison points and ombudsman mechanisms,arrangements to strengthen domestic coordination,cross-border investment facilitation cooperation,special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries,technical assistance and capacity-building,corporate social responsibility,anti-corruption measures,and institutional arrangements.

Lawyer Tang subsequently made excellent comments on the China Europe Comprehensive Investment Agreement("CAI").CAI is a high-level agreement with the richest content and the greatest degree of openness since China opened up to the outside world.At the same time,CAI has a significant and far-reaching impact on the WTO Investment Facilitation Agreement under negotiation.CAI is rich in content,including many issues that affect the deep level of foreign direct investment:attempting to regulate the behavior of state-owned enterprises;Strengthen the transparency of subsidies;Rules for mandatory technology transfer;Standard setting and authorization,transparency,equal use of standard setting bodies,and improvement of the transparency,predictability,and fairness of authorization.China has committed to maintaining the degree of freedom and openness of Chinese investment over the past 20 years and thus preventing a decline;Clarified that the conditions for EU enterprises to enter the Chinese market are not affected by China's internal policies;And agreed to establish a dispute resolution mechanism within CAI to handle disputes over breach of contract.At the same time,establish a political level monitoring mechanism to deal with pre litigation issues,including emergency procedures;In addition,after further negotiations,new commitments to opening up have been reached in some sectors For example,remove quantitative restrictions,equity caps,and joint venture requirements.Once the CAI is officially signed,China's overall openness will have an unprecedented improvement,surpassing China's commitments in the General Agreement on Trade in Services of the WTO,and covering a wide range of manufacturing,automotive,financial services,health(private hospitals),biological resource research and development services,telecommunications/cloud services,computer services,international shipping,air transportation services,commercial services,environmental services,construction services,employees of EU investors,and so on.At the same time,CAI also takes into account the sensitivity of the EU in energy,agriculture,fisheries,film and television,and public services.

Legal affairs in the field of foreign investment have been the main business area of Gaopeng Law Firm for decades.Gaopeng Law Firm has provided effective legal services for foreign clients,including the European Union,to enter the Chinese market for investment and business development,as well as joint venture cooperation with Chinese enterprises.Lawyer Tang's research and observation on the WTO Investment Facilitation Agreement and the China Europe Comprehensive Investment Agreement are strategically situated,which undoubtedly further consolidated Gaopeng Law Firm's leading position in legal services in the field of foreign investment.

(This article is translated by software translator for reference only.)