Press release - EU-China relations: Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee to visit Beijing and Shanghai

Against a backdrop of growing geopolitical uncertainty and mounting economic and trade tensions, the eight-member delegation will engage with its Chinese counterparts on key issues of mutual interest.

Discussions will focus on the evolving and multifaceted EU-China relationship, with particular attention on issues of strategic importance to the EU, including the geopolitical implications of growing economic imbalances, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the human rights situation in China, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. The delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David McAllister, will also engage on areas of shared interest, including multilateralism, international public health and climate diplomacy.

Among others, the Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs will meet with foreign minister Wang Yi, the leadership of the National People's Congress (NPC) and its foreign affairs committee, as well as with the International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC).

Members will also have discussions with EU diplomatic missions in Beijing, and with scholars at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). In Shanghai, MEPs will hold a series of meetings with representatives of the municipal authorities and local tech companies. They will focus on the technological dimension of EU-China relations including tech sovereignty and competition, as well as the global governance of artificial intelligence.

Members of the delegation

David McAllister, (EPP, Germany), Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

Engin Eroglu, (Renew Europe, Germany), Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the People's Republic of China

Nicolás Pascual de la Parte (EPP, Spain)

Javi López (S&D, Spain)

Lucia Annunziata (S&D, Italy)

Jaroslav Bžoch (PfE, Czechia)

Adam Bielan (ECR, Poland)

Hilde Vautmans (Renew Europe, Belgium), Foreign Affairs Committee Standing Rapporteur on China.

Background

The visit to Beijing and Shanghai on 21-23 July is one of the most significant foreign policy engagements undertaken by the Committee in its current term and follows a visit by Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee in late March 2026. A delegation of MEPs travelled to China in May to participate in the 43rd EU-China Inter-Parliamentary Meeting, and the International Trade Committee is expected to visit the country later in 2026.