Flags of the European Union (left) and China.
Nelson Ching | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Worsening tensions between the European Union and China could jeopardize an investment agreement the two sides recently negotiated.
The EU on Monday imposed sanctions on four Chinese officials and an entity for human rights abuses in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. The movement was part of a coordinated action against Beijing by the US and its allies, including the United Kingdom and Canada.
China quickly retaliated against the EU, announcing its own blacklist of ten people, including European lawmakers, and four entities.
Beijing’s response in turn sparked warnings from several members of the European Parliament or MEPs, who said they would not ratify the EU-China investment agreement agreed in December.
“The lifting of sanctions against MEPs is a precondition for starting talks with the Chinese government on the investment deal,” said Kathleen van Brempt, a Socialist MEP and left-wing Democrat.
S&D is the second largest political grouping in the European Parliament, with 145 MEPs.
They also influenced the targets of Chinese sanctions.
Reinhard Bütikofer, a German MEP, said in a post on Twitter that ratification of the EU-China agreement “is not increasingly likely” after Beijing imposed sanctions for “punishing” freedom of expression.
Bütikofer is a member of the Greens / European Free Alliance group and chairman of the Chinese delegation to the European Parliament.
Meanwhile, Slovak MEP Miriam Lexmann, of the center-right European People’s Party group, said in a tweet that China’s actions “will make it clear that she is not interested in being a partner, but a systematic rival that undermines fundamental values and principles. “.
The European Parliament will have to vote on the EU-China investment agreement in early 2022, S&D said. Negotiations took seven years and the agreement, if ratified, would allow European investors “unprecedented access” to the Chinese market, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in December.
But even ahead of Monday’s retaliatory sanctions, some European lawmakers raised three major concerns about the deal, questioning its approval.
Beijing convenes EU ambassador
Beijing said in a statement that its Deputy Foreign Minister Qin Gang convened on Monday night Nicolas Chapuis, the EU ambassador to China, to protest against EU sanctions.
The Mandarin statement released on Tuesday said EU sanctions targeting China were based on “lies and misinformation” about Xinjiang, according to a CNBC translation. He also warned the EU that it would not further worsen Europe-China relations.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and international organizations, including the United Nations, have accused China of having more than a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in detention camps.
In a joint statement issued Monday, the U.S. Secretary of State and the Foreign Ministers of Canada and the United Kingdom stated that “China’s extensive repression program includes severe restrictions on religious freedoms, l ‘use of forced labor, mass detention in internment camps, forced sterilization and concerted destruction of Uyghur heritage.’
China has repeatedly denied forced labor charges and claimed the camps are re-education camps to eliminate extremism and teach people new job skills.
– CNC’s Evelyn Cheng and Silvia Amaro contributed to this report.