U.S.-Asia Law Institute at NYU School of Law

As China slowly emerges from its self-imposed COVID-19 isolation and entry becomes easier for foreign businessmen, a critical question that has been pushed to the side will return to the fore: is European business still in love with China? When the pandemic began in 2020, Europe was China’s largest trading partner and Chinese investment into Europe was surging. Even then, however, European FDI into China was in a slump due to frustration with market access. China has since liberalized its investment rules for some sectors. Will that be enough to revive European interest? Or have the combined effects of China’s long Covid lockdowns and Washington’s concerns about China as a security threat caused European business to chill on China and shift their sights elsewhere?