TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The European Union and China agreed to an investment deal on Wednesday (Dec. 30) that looks to give European firms greater access to Chinese markets.

The deal was negotiated over almost seven years and will likely take at least another year before it enters into force. The two sides had been looking to get the deal done before the end of the year.

Germany, the EU’s largest country, is a big supporter of the agreement, as many of its companies do business in China, and it wanted to finish the talks before its six-month EU presidency ends on Dec. 31, according to Reuters. And with President-elect Joe Biden about to take office, observers speculated that Beijing wanted to move ahead with the deal, as concern over China will likely be a factor in EU-American relations.

Under the agreement, European companies will be allowed to operate electric cars, telecom cloud services, and certain activities connected to air and maritime transport in China. Joint ventures will no longer be required for the automotive sector, many financial services, private hospitals, advertising, real estate, or environmental services like sewage and waste disposal.

China will also remove project limitations on construction services and has committed to transparency in most manufacturing sectors and in computer services. European managers and specialists will be permitted to work in Chinese subsidiaries for up to three years without restrictions.

European companies with a large China presence are expected to benefit, including Daimler, BMW, Peugeot, Allianz, and Siemens. Beijing said it will also pass laws banning forced technology transfers from foreign firms and has promised to be more transparent on subsidies and to ban state-owned enterprises from discriminating against foreign investors.

The commitments are reciprocal, but the EU market is already considerably more open in terms of foreign investment.

The deal also contains commitments on climate change and labor rights, including forced labor.

The text of the deal still needs to be finalized before months of legal scrubbing and translated into the 24 official EU languages. It will then need to be ratified, which will require approval from the 27 EU governments and the European Parliament.