A delegation of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, led by its Chair David McAllister, concluded a three-day mission to China on Thursday.

From 21 to 23 July, the delegation held meetings in Beijing and Shanghai – with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, and the leadership of the National People’s Congress including First Vice-Chairperson Li Hongzhong and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairperson Lou Qinjian. The eight-member delegation also exchanged with EU and member state ambassadors in Beijing, the EU Chamber of Commerce, and with the International Department of the Communist Party of China, including Minister Liu Haixing.

Visiting for the first time since the resumption last year of direct contacts between the European Parliament and Chinese authorities, the Foreign Affairs Committee members also held meetings with leading scholars at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing and at Shanghai’s Fudan University. Also in Shanghai, the delegation…