European Parliament heads to China after 8 years; members say it’s no sign of giving in

After eight years in the deep freeze, the European Parliament is sending an official delegation to China next week.

Photo: Shutterstock After eight years in the deep freeze, the European Parliament is sending an official delegation to China next week in the clearest sign yet that Beijing’s targeted lobbying blitz on European members is paying off.

Seven members from the parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee will travel to Beijing and Shanghai alongside Engin Eroglu, head of its China delegation.

They will meet officials, customs and port authorities, lawmakers and companies, including Shein, Temu and ByteDance, firms that are all in the crosshairs of EU regulators. “We want to send a message that it is vitally important that the internal market is not overflooded with dumped or overcapacity products from China, and that our rules on product standards are to be followed, regarding the big e-commerce tsunami coming from China right now,” said Anna Cavazzini, the IMCO chair who leads the trip.

The visit opens the door to travel by members (MEPs) to China, which was halted for years under the strains of the pandemic and sanctions over human rights.

The IMCO committee’s trip will be followed in late May by the parliament’s official China delegation, led by Eroglu, which will travel to Beijing and potentially Wuhan for another round of talks with the National People’s Congress.

The sides clashed over thorny issues such as Russia and Taiwan during their first official talks for seven years in Brussels in October.

Then, it is the turn of the foreign affairs committee to visit in July and the trade group – traditionally the EU’s most critical arm – in October. “Some MEPs are becoming somewhat more open to talks with China again, given the behaviour of the US government.

MEPs with a critical stance towards the US are also using this to attempt to improve relations with China from within the parliament,” Eroglu, who will travel on all the visits, told the South China Morning Post.

He said the trips were designed to “step out of our EU bubble”, adding that to “truly understand China, it is necessary to be on the ground and gain a comprehensive picture across different sectors”.

But despite the engagement, the chamber has not gone soft, lawmakers insist. “The European Parliament is very determined and united on the issue of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war in Ukraine.

China’s support for Russia is being noticed; therefore, I

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