PARIS — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that China is confident of reaching an investment deal with the European Union (EU).

In an interview with AFP during his visit in France on Oct 21, Wang said China and EU are each other's largest trade and economic partner, and both hope that economic and trade cooperation will become more standardized and law-based. He said China holds a positive attitude toward the signing of a comprehensive investment agreement with EU.

Wang said China and EU are in different development stages, the two sides should reach a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement based on their respective national situations and needs, instead of trying to impose their own demands on each other.

According to the minister, China's door of opening-up will only open wider and the thresholds of market access will be lower.

He said China is implementing pre-establishment national treatment and a negative list across the country, and the negative list items have been decreasing.

All these measures have created favorable conditions for both sides to reach the China-EU investment deal as soon as possible, and China is confident about it, Wang said.

According to Wang, the leaders of both sides have reached a consensus during their meeting this year that decisive progress in the negotiations should be made by the end of the year in a bid to reach a high-level deal next year. And this is not only a consensus but also a commitment made by both sides.

China is speeding up the negotiation process in line with this roadmap, said Wang, adding that the negotiations are progressing smoothly on the whole, and are expected to achieve common goals.

Wang said China is also ready to launch the free trade agreement negotiations with EU as soon as possible, at least to start feasibility studies first.

EU has signed free trade agreements with a number of countries. And China, the largest market for EU, should not be ignored, Wang said.

Wang noted that China's opening-up will not stop. It will offer better investment environment for foreign enterprises, including those from EU, and China hopes EU will do the same.

Regarding the issues on 5G, Wang said 5G is a product of scientific and technological progress of all humankind and should be shared by all countries.

He expressed the hope that EU will uphold an objective and fair attitude toward all enterprises, including Chinese companies and 5G companies, and provide a level playing field and non-discriminatory policy for them.