China has grown keen to forge closer economic and political ties with Europe
\n BRUSSELS
\nChina has decided to lift sanctions on four members of the European Parliament as well as on its subcommittee on human rights, a parliament official told Reuters.
\nThe official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is expected to announce the change on Wednesday. The official initially said sanctions would be lifted for four current members and one former member but later said the decision applied only to four current members.
\nChina has grown keen to forge closer economic and political ties with Europe to limit the damage from tariffs on most of its exports to the United States.
\nThe sanctions China is lifting, according to the official, were imposed in 2021 in response to Western measures against Chinese officials accused of the mass detentions of Muslim Uyghurs.
\nIn response to the Chinese sanctions on its members, the European Parliament halted the ratification of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, which had aimed to put EU companies on an equal footing in China.
\nAsked about reports that Beijing would lift sanctions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a news conference on Wednesday that \u201cthe economic and trade cooperation between China and Europe is complementary and mutually beneficial.\u201d
\n\u201cThe legislative bodies of China and the EU are an important part of China-EU relations, and we hope that the two sides will meet each other halfway and strengthen exchanges,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cmembers of the European Parliament are welcome to visit China more often.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China has grown keen to forge closer economic and political ties with Europe BRUSSELS China has decided to lift sanctions on four members of the European Parliament as well as on its subcommittee on human rights, a parliament official told Reuters. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-475692","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n