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China has made significant progress on market access and IP protection in recent years -- largely in response to foreign pressure. This trend doesn't fit with popular political narratives, but I suspect that EU negotiators paid more attention to concrete actions. https://twitter.com/RushDoshi/status/1344306999782203392
Just in the last year, China has eased market access restrictions in finance, autos, agriculture, oil and gas exploration, urban heat and gas pipelines, and movie theaters. https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2020/03/24/usda-and-ustr-announce-continued-progress-implementation-us-china; https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-to-ease-rules-on-foreign-auto-makers-1523963345; https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3090620/china-eases-restrictions-foreign-investors-it-too-little-too; https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3114132/china-eases-foreign-investment-restrictions-negative-list
On IP protection and tech transfer, Mark Cohen at Berkeley has documented recent progress in these and many other posts. https://chinaipr.com/2019/04/27/the-changing-legislative-landscape-of-trade-secret-protection-in-china/; https://chinaipr.com/2019/04/23/trademark-law-and-aucl-revisions-passed-into-law/
Some of these actions were long overdue, and foreign investors still face serious obstacles in China. We also need to see full text of the agreement to assess the costs and benefits. Nevertheless, the record is clear that engagement yields real benefits to foreign business.
That's why EU Chamber of Commerce President Joerg Wuttke -- who has not been shy about criticizing China on market entry, IP issues, and SOEs -- favors this deal. https://twitter.com/TomMackenzieTV/status/1344525201887772673
