BRUSSELS ― A delegation of Chinese politicians is to visit the European Parliament for the first time after more that seven years of frozen relations.
The meeting, which is still being finalized and could take place in mid-October or beginning of November, will be followed by a trip by EU lawmakers to China in late May, top MEP Engin Eroglu, chair of the EU-China interparliamentary delegation, told POLITICO.
As the EU grapples with finding its place in a new international order, caught between Donald Trump’s White House, Moscow and Beijing, the talks reveal that limited diplomatic contact is taking place despite global uncertainty on trade and security.
During both meetings, MEPs and members of China’s National People’s Congress will address the topics of Russia’s war in Ukraine, trade, maintaining the role of the United Nations in the global order, and human rights, Eroglu said.
The last gathering was an interparliamentary summit held in Beijing on May 2018. Further talks were put on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic and a break of diplomatic ties after China sanctioned EU lawmakers in 2021.
Lifting sanctions
“We need to change the status quo of our trade relationship,” Eroglu said. “At the moment, we have a massive trade deficit with China, and we need to reduce this … we are essentially transferring our prosperity to China.”
He added that “the EU should consistently emphasize that improving EU-China relations hinges on China’s position regarding the war,” even though it is “unrealistic” to expect China to change its position on the war in Ukraine and that it will continue to “side with Russia.”
The visit comes after Beijing and the European Parliament lifted sanctions enforced on each other in April 2025, clearing the way for further political dialogue between the two superpowers.
China sanctioned five MEPs and the human rights committee in 2021, which prompted the Parliament’s leadership to retaliate in the form of a ban on any diplomatic contact.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa traveled to Beijing in July to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations for a trip that included meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.
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