Beijing (AP) -Friday China rejected the European Parliament’s request to lift sanctions on European Union legislators to save trade agreements between the two countries.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the sanctions were justified and the European side demanded that “immediately stop (and) abandon the confrontational approach to China’s internal affairs.”
“Unjustified sanctions imposed by the EU have made the relationship between China and the EU difficult. That’s what China doesn’t want, and it’s not the responsibility of China,” he said.
The European Parliament warned China on Thursday that it would not ratify the long-awaited business investment agreement as long as sanctions against European Union legislators were in place.
China took sanctions after the EU, Britain, Canada and the United States began collaborative sanctions against Chinese officials over human rights abuses in the westernmost part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The targets were five members of the European Parliament, Reinhard Buticoffer, Michael Garrer, Raphaël Glucksman, Ilhan Kuchuk and Miriam Rexman.
As a general rule, the investment agreement is agreed in December and requires the approval of a member of the Diet to take effect. In addition to lifting sanctions, legislators said China’s human rights situation would be taken into account when deciding whether to approve the transaction.
The EU hopes that the agreement, known as CAI, will help Chinese European companies create new investment opportunities and correct trade imbalances by ensuring that they can compete on an equal footing. I will.
According to EU statistics, China is currently the EU’s second largest trading partner after the United States, and Brock is China’s largest trading partner. China and Europe trade on average more than 1 billion euros ($ 1.2 billion) a day.
Mr. Zhao reiterated China’s position that the deal is “a balanced win-win deal that benefits both sides, not the gifts and benefits given from one to the other.”
“China has always taken the cooperation of both sides seriously. The European side is moving in the same direction as us, reducing emotional outbursts, making more rational thinking and making the right decisions for their own benefit. I hope you can do it, “said Zhao.