Members of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee held a video debate on EU-China relations in the evening of the 21st, in which MEPs criticized China’s handling of human rights, Hong Kong and Uighur issues, the situation in the East and South China Seas, and the origin of the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic, and debated with Chinese Ambassador to the EU Zhang Ming.
Relations between the EU and China are not returning to the status quo ante because of China’s cover-up of the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak, was the MEP’s emphatic statement to Chinese Ambassador to the EU Zhang Ming.
Members of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee held a video debate in the evening of the 21st, inviting Gunnar Wiegand, Director General of the Asia-Pacific Directorate General of the European External Affairs Service (EEAS), and Zhang Ming, Chinese Ambassador to the EU, to listen to views on topics such as human rights in China, the situation in the East and South China Seas, green, digital, and unfulfilled commitments to European trade.
In explaining the position of the European External Affairs Ministry, Wiegand said that China is the EU’s second largest trading partner, but he believes that China needs to change the status quo: “How many European companies can do business in China outside of joint ventures? How many European researchers have access to China’s top research programs? European businesses and citizens look forward to addressing this lack of balance and reciprocity”.
The EU wants to be a partner with China on issues such as Iran, Afghanistan and climate change, he said, stressing that the EU has taken a more robust and pragmatic approach to China, recognizing its complexity and the need to be principled in its dealings with China.
The parliamentarians made no secret of the fact that human rights are the deepest cause of the divide between Europe and China, and that the different values of Europe and China make it impossible for Europe to agree to China’s national security laws in Hong Kong, re-education camps for Uighurs in Xinjiang, and nationwide surveillance. The parliamentarians urged China to allow independent researchers to investigate the situation in Xinjiang and Tibet, and asked Zhang Ming to provide information on the whereabouts of Ilham Toxti, a Uighur economist persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party, to which he responded that China’s achievements in the field of human rights were remarkable, having lifted 800 million people out of poverty, and that Ilham Toxti was a convicted criminal sentenced to prison in a judicial trial.
The head of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with China, Reinhard Bütikofer, contradicted him, saying, “Irihamu is not a criminal, he is the recipient of the Shakalov Prize for Human Rights established by the European Parliament.”
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Zhang Ming replied that, in the face of the major challenges posed by the epidemic, it is the virus that is the adversary, not China and Europe with each other.
Tensions between China and its neighbors since 2012 were also an issue of concern for legislators, who called on China to avoid unilateral actions in the South China Sea, respect the UNCLOS peaceful settlement and avoid escalation of the situation, while Reinhard Bütikofer urged China to work to reduce tensions in the Taiwan Strait, as well as in the East and South China Seas, and called on China to keep its commitments to the people of Hong Kong and the international community regarding the Hong Kong National Security Law.
In addition, on China’s export of surveillance systems to Central Asian countries and training of surveillance personnel in countries such as Libya and Morocco, in violation of G20 regulations, MEPs questioned how the EU can digitally cooperate with a country that implements surveillance systems. The Chinese Communist Party was even said to be the worst threat to human rights after the fascists and Nazis.
China’s wolf-warrior foreign policy also drew international criticism, with lawmakers calling out Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shano for his irresponsible and aggressive remarks during the epidemic, stressing that Europe does not want disinformation and propaganda.
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