EU, China to map trade, investment protocol through to 2020

~~BEIJING - China and the European Union have announced a grand plan for co-operation at the China-EU 2020 Strategic Agenda, and have started talks on an investment protocol, mapping out a blueprint for their relationship until 2020. They have also vowed to discuss the feasibility of a free trade agreement, and set a target for bilateral trade volume in 2020 at US$1 trillion, nearly doubling the US$546 billion recorded in 2012.

Premier Li Kejiang described the plan as “unprecedented in its breadth of content, ranging from aerospace and counter-piracy to urbanisation and energy".  Relations between China and the EU have been rocky due to complaints about protectionism from both sides. The two narrowly avoided a trade war on solar panels earlier this year.