The European Parliament has lifted restrictions on lawmakers meeting some Chinese officials, in a fresh indication of a potential thaw in EU-China ties.
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The recommendations were introduced in April 2023 as follow up to a sanctioning blitz in 2021, when the sides traded blows in a row over alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region.
The guidelines, which covered both China and Iran, stated that “official counterparts (parliamentarians) will not be invited to visit the European Parliament” and that there would be no “official missions” to the countries while sanctions remain in place, “unless the mission includes at least one member” who has been sanctioned.
Furthermore, they instructed that bilateral contacts with officials should be “limited to office holders and parliament’s services should be notified”. Meetings at multilateral forums were also meant to be notified.
However, the harder-line posture began to crack at a meeting with senior lawmakers last month, when European Parliament President Roberta Metsola proposed that the measures be withdrawn. Restrictions on meeting officials from Russia and Belarus remain in place.
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Could a far-right shift in the EU parliament change its relations with China?
Could a far-right shift in the EU parliament change its relations with China?
A European Parliament spokesperson confirmed the change, saying that the “non-binding guidelines regarding contacts with some third country representatives were issued at a very specific time and context”.