China, EU may hold investment deal talks (2)

He says Brussels may put non-commercial items such as sustainable development, social responsibility and human rights on the negotiating agenda while trying to gain more market access in China. In turn, Beijing will ask Brussels to accept equal investment status for its State-owned enterprises, which are increasing their presence overseas.

"All these are bones of contention and it is not easy to find convergence," Zhang said. "However, any talks should be easier than those between Beijing and Washington."

Zhang said Beijing has shown a realistic and flexible attitude over bilateral investment agreement negotiations with Washington and Brussels. China and the US concluded their ninth round of talks this month although the negotiators have not achieved a basic framework for agreement so far, Zhang added.

New attempt

Glyn Ford, a former member of the European Parliament, said he is looking forward to Beijing and Brussels taking a constructive attitude to solving the anti-dumping problem and preparing for a fruitful summit in November.

"This should be a tone-setting summit for both Brussels and Beijing and I hope it will be a fruitful, not soured, one," Ford told China Daily in an interview. He hopes both sides can kick-start investment agreement negotiations at the summit.

With Brussels negotiators obtaining a mandate to talk to Washington on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), observers say this is another attempt by old powers to contain emerging economies, such as China and Russia, following Washington's strategy of negotiating with China's neighbors on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Brussels says its trade deal with the US is expected to boost the EU economy by 0.5 percent, or 119 billion euros ($158.7 billion) annually, due to the removal of tariffs and red tape.