The European Parliament is in the “final stages” of discussions with Beijing about removing sanctions on China, according to a Parliament spokesperson. “Discussions with the Chinese authorities are continuing and in their final stages,” the spokesperson said Thursday. The Chinese government put retaliatory sanctions on some MEPs in 2021, after the EU sanctioned some Chinese officials and entities over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
JUST IN: 🇪🇺🇨🇳 European Parliament in 'final stages' of talks with China to remove sanctions. pic.twitter.com/VcRLSl4q3y
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European Parliament President Roberta Metsola “will first inform group leaders once there is official confirmation from the Chinese authorities that sanctions have been lifted. It has always been the EP’s intention to have sanctions lifted and resume relations with China”, the spokesperson added.
Further sanctions, amounting to a visa ban and asset freezes in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, were applied to a group of EU ambassadors who sat on the powerful European Council’s Political Security Committee, as well as the Mercator Institute for China Studies think tank and several other researchers. It is unclear if those sanctions are also set to be lifted, as representatives have yet to comment on further sanctions being cleared.
More Good News For China
The news is another positive for China, which earlier today also found out that their tariffs from the US may be lowered to 50%. The Trump administration currently examines different methods for reducing the American trade barrier on Chinese imports, which he imposed in his second term, through possible reductions of 50% to 65%. Ears of political representatives are exploring a plan that duplicates previous House Committee on China recommendations.
China, meanwhile, has embarked on a charm offensive of its own, trying to rally European governments to fight Trump’s duties together. On Tuesday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone with the foreign ministers of Austria and Britain, in an effort to convince them to oppose US moves. “The US uses tariffs as a weapon to launch indiscriminate attacks on various countries … as a responsible country, China has stood up to stop it, not only to safeguard its own legit rights and interests, but also to safeguard international rules and the multilateral trading system,” Wang said.