EU-China Summit: Quote from Reinhard Bütikofer MEP

On the EU-China Summit, Reinhard Bütikofer MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's China Delegation, comments:

"The EU-China summit is overshadowed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. China's pro-Russian stance is unmistakable. Contrary to the expectation of the revisionist Moscow-Beijing axis that the EU and its Western partners would not be able to show a  strong and united reaction against the Russian war of aggression, a broad alliance of democratic countries has sided with Ukraine. The EU leadership has the opportunity to further underpin this strategic solidarity with democratic countries by making it clear to the Chinese leadership that any violation of the Western sanctions regime against Russia will have direct consequences.

"Other areas of tension in the EU-China relationship are the economic blackmail attempts against Lithuania and the impact of this behaviour on the European single market, the unlawful Chinese sanctions against European parliamentarians, institutions, think tanks and researchers, China's increasing aggression against democratic Taiwan, the continuous undermining of basic rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, and the human rights atrocities in Xinjiang."