Relations with Europe, both Eastern and Western, generally have been friendly in the early 21st century, with close political and trade relations with the European Union nations being a major thrust of China's foreign policy in the 2000s. In November 2005, General Secretary Hu Jintao visited the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain] and announced China's eagerness to enter into greater political and economic cooperation with its European partners. On the 31st of December 2020, the EU and China concluded negotiations for the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (pending ratification by the European Parliament), which is viewed as "the most ambitious agreement that China has ever concluded" by significantly opening up its internal market to EU companies.