EU-China relations: Parliament calls for dialogue and fair trade

TALLINN - The European Parliament has adopted a recommendation addressed to other EU institutions, expressing support for a world order based on multilateralism and stressing the need for dialogue with China on global challenges, peace and security, climate, and human rights.

At the same time, the report notes that EU-China relations have reached a difficult stage, as China employs unfair economic practices and holds a position on the war in Ukraine that is very different from the EU's, considering that the Chinese military has trained Russian soldiers to fight in Ukraine. The EU should therefore coordinate its actions with the US, G7 countries, and other like-minded partners, and China should use its influence on Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

The EU must urgently reduce its excessive economic dependence on China, as this can be used against the bloc. The EU must also de-risk in areas such as critical raw materials, pharmaceuticals, batteries, electric vehicles, information and communication technology, and semiconductors, as well as in other strategic sectors. China's industrial overcapacity, state subsidies, and access restrictions imposed on European companies are increasingly problematic for the EU economy. Investments into Europe must be screened more thoroughly, and the EU's vital technology, infrastructure, and supply chains must be more robustly protected.

Parliament demands a level playing field for the EU in trade and investment with China and wants the EU to respond proportionately when China fails to open its domestic markets. It also calls for strengthening the "Global Gateway" strategy partnerships, particularly in Africa and Latin America, as they offer an alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative. Parliament stresses its continued support for the EU's One China policy but opposes any unilateral change to Taiwan's status quo by force or coercion.

The report also calls for the EU to more strongly combat cyberattacks, foreign interference, espionage, and hybrid threats, as well as to take a more robust stance on human rights. Parliament believes that more pressure should be put on China over its repression, use of forced labor, and policies in Tibet and Xinjiang. Additionally, Parliament expresses deep concern about the adoption of the so-called law on promoting ethnic unity and progress in China, as it further entrenches the country's assimilation policies. Parliament also demands that China unconditionally release all political prisoners.

In the plenary session, 454 MEPs voted in favor of the own-initiative report, with 86 against and 110 abstentions.

Rapporteur Hilde Vautmans from Belgium said that European policy towards China is changing and that a broad consensus is emerging in the EU on rebalancing economic relations. "I hope that Commissioner Šefčovič will address this tomorrow in Beijing. However, the Parliament's report goes even further. It calls for the EU to cooperate with China where possible but to remain firm on its security and values. As long as fundamental disagreements persist between the EU and China, our relationship will also be characterized by systemic rivalry."

Direct relations between the European Parliament and Chinese authorities were frozen from 2021 to 2025 after the Chinese government imposed sanctions on several MEPs in response to EU sanctions on Chinese officials and organizations for human rights violations. Relations were restored in 2025, and between March and June 2026, three parliamentary delegations visited China. A fourth visit is expected in October 2026.