Beijing has removed “restrictions” on Reinhard Buetikofer, the former EU lawmaker it sanctioned in 2021, as it looks to normalise ties with the European Parliament.
The move is expected to galvanise a new round of engagement, with an official meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the China delegation of the European Parliament pencilled in for Brussels in October, according to several people familiar with the plan. This would be the first official meeting between the sides since 2018.
In the letter, the Chinese mission to the EU also stated that there was a “preliminary consensus” to resume political meetings between the European Parliament and the NPC, seen as Beijing’s parliamentary equivalent.
The development came during an NPC visit to Brussels in late June, led by Fu Ziying, vice-chairman of its foreign affairs committee. They met with the parliament vice-president Younous Omarjee of the Left Group; vice-president Javi Lopez of the Socialists and Democrats; head of the trade committee Bernd Lange; and head of the China delegation, Engin Eroglu.
It is thought that the European Parliament’s China delegation and other groups demanded that Beijing remove sanctions on Buetikofer, a former Green Party lawmaker who had dominated the parliament’s China files until he retired last year, before considering normalising ties.
