Ukraine will undoubtedly be the main foreign policy focus for the European Commission’s newly appointed leaders. The importance of this immediate neighbour to the east is obvious. But Jean-Claude Juncker and his administration should place equal – if not greater – emphasis on a country this lies even further east.

With the EU exclusively responsible for foreign trade and investment matters since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in late 2009, the bloc’s relations with China should be prioritised to reflect the country’s size and its restrictive investment environment.

China has contributed substantially more to the world’s economic growth than any other country since the global economic crisis and it has become its largest economy in purchasing power parity terms. Yet China has long adopted an idiosyncratic approach to foreign investment.