Relations between Europe and China took a direct turn for the worse on Monday when the Chinese Communist Party issued retaliatory measures after the European Union launched sanctions on human rights issues in Xinjiang. The German and French governments summoned the Chinese ambassador on Tuesday to protest the travel ban issued by the Chinese Communist Party on Monday against 10 members of the European Parliament and EU member states. Italy also summoned the Chinese ambassador to Rome on Wednesday.
German Foreign Minister Francois Maas said the summoning of the Chinese ambassador was an expression of dissatisfaction with the Chinese Communist Party’s retaliatory measures and described the Chinese actions as “incomprehensible.
Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shanno recently published a series of tweets criticizing several French lawmakers and French academic Antoine Bondaz. The French government summoned Roussano on Monday, but Roussano delayed the meeting until Tuesday, citing “travel” concerns. Tuesday’s meeting lasted about 20 minutes, with the French side stating outright that Roussano’s words and actions were “unacceptable” and “beyond the bounds of what is generally accepted by any embassy in the world”.
Taiwan Central News Agency quoted sources as saying that Roussano wanted to mention Taiwan, but was interrupted by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and told to make another appointment. The report also quoted a diplomatic source as saying, “We don’t want to classify him as persona non grata, but we want to stop the attacks. His attitude is not in line with his role of seeking common ground and has instead become a problem in Franco-Chinese relations.”
The Belgian and Danish foreign ministries also summoned the Chinese ambassador to express their displeasure on Tuesday.
China’s deputy foreign minister summoned Tuesday the head of the EU delegation to China, Yu Bai, and the British ambassador, Wu Ruolan, to protest against British sanctions against Chinese officials on the basis of human rights issues in Xinjiang. China’s ambassador to Germany on Tuesday made representations against the EU sanctions against China.
For the first Time in 32 years, EU member states have proposed sanctions against China in response to human rights concerns in Xinjiang. The Chinese Communist Party issued measures against 10 EU members and four entities on the same day in retaliation, provoking outrage in the European Parliament and overshadowing the China-EU investment agreement (CAI) reached more than two months ago. The European Parliament cancelled a meeting scheduled for Tuesday to consider the CAI.
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