politics
EU Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Makes First Visit to China Since 2021 Sanctions Freeze
An eight-member group from the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs began a three-day trip to Beijing and Shanghai on Tuesday. The visit follows the 2025 restoration of bilateral dialogue after a 2021 freeze over sanctions.
Jul 21, 6:48 AM·1m read2 sources
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An eight-member delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs arrived in China on Tuesday for a three-day visit that marks the committee’s first trip to the country. The group, led by chairman David McAllister, will meet senior officials in Beijing and Shanghai. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met the delegation in Beijing the same day.
He called on the lawmakers to strengthen exchanges across Chinese society to gain “a genuine, multi-dimensional and evolving perspective” on China. Wang added that both sides should address disputes as partners and avoid the politicisation of economic and trade matters or overstretching security concepts into normal exchanges.
The delegation comprises lawmakers from Germany, Spain, Italy, Czechia, Poland and Belgium.
Institutional exchanges between the EU and China had been frozen since 2021 over Xinjiang-related sanctions before bilateral dialogue resumed in 2025. The group will travel to Shanghai to meet municipal officials and tech representatives. Discussions there will cover tech sovereignty, competition and the global governance of AI.
