China to lift sanctions on EU Parliament members, official says, World News
BRUSSELS — China has decided to lift sanctions on four members of the European Parliament as well as on its subcommittee on human rights, a parliament official told Reuters.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is expected to announce the change on Wednesday (April 30). The official initially said sanctions would be lifted for four current members and one former member but later said the decision applied only to four current members.
China has grown keen to forge closer economic and political ties with Europe to limit the damage from tariffs on most of its exports to the United States.
The sanctions China is lifting, according to the official, were imposed in 2021 in response to Western measures against Chinese officials accused of the mass detentions of Muslim Uyghurs.
In response to the Chinese sanctions on its members, the European Parliament halted the ratification of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, which had aimed to put EU companies on an equal footing in China.
Asked about reports that Beijing would lift sanctions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a news conference on Wednesday that "the economic and trade co-operation between China and Europe is complementary and mutually beneficial".
"The legislative bodies of China and the EU are an important part of China-EU relations, and we hope that the two sides will meet each other halfway and strengthen exchanges," he said, adding that "members of the European Parliament are welcome to visit China more often".
[[nid:717512]]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Disorder breaks out in Northern Ireland for third straight night
Riot police members hold their shields while they take position as riots continue in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Riot police vehicles line up on a road as riots continue in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Demonstrators gather in front of riot police vehicles as riots continue in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Riot police members hold their shields while they take position as riots continue in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Disorder breaks out in Northern Ireland for third straight night BALLYMENA, Northern Ireland - Public disorder broke out in Northern Ireland for the third successive night on Wednesday with videos and pictures on social media purportedly showing a fire in a leisure centre in the town of Larne after masked youths smashed the building's windows. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the clips. Hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set homes and cars on fire 33 kilometres (20 miles) west in Ballymena during the previous two nights in what police condemned as "racist thuggery." Thirty-two officers were injured. Riot police and armoured vans blocked roads in Ballymena on Wednesday evening as a crowd of around 200 people watched on. Two rocks were thrown at a police van and one person kicked the bonnet of a police van, a Reuters witness said. The police vans slowly moved towards the crowd who were warned over a loud speaker to disperse immediately as force was "about to be used against violent individuals." The violence initially erupted after two 14-year-old boys were arrested and appeared in court, accused of a serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in Ballymena, located 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Belfast. The charges were read via a Romanian interpreter to the boys, whose lawyer told the court that they denied the charge, the BBC reported. Police are investigating the damaging of property in Ballymena as racially-motivated hate crimes. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Argentina ban on former president Kirchner reshapes political landscape
Former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner stands at the balcony of her home after Argentina's Supreme Court upheld her guilty verdict for defrauding the state, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Tomas Cuesta/File Photo BUENOS AIRES - Argentina's supreme court has effectively banned former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner from government, a move that poses both a challenge and an opportunity for the opposition Peronist party ahead of crunch midterm elections this year. The court upheld a six-year jail term against Kirchner for graft on Tuesday, barring one of the country's most high-profile politicians from holding public office. In the short-term, the decision may enable libertarian President Javier Milei to cement his power base in the October midterm vote, but over the long run it could help revamp the Peronist movement, which was Argentina's most powerful political bloc for decades before being ousted by outsider Milei in 2023. Kirchner, a two-term president from 2007-2015 and a senator and vice president from 2019-2023, faces the possibility of jail time. She will likely be able to push for house arrest because of her age, 72, and the court will decide within five working days whether to grant that request. But she will not be able to run as a legislative candidate in the midterm elections in the province of Buenos Aires, a Peronist stronghold, as she had planned. Nonetheless, the leftist Kirchner, the president and one of the leaders of the Peronist party, may still be able to pull political strings given her strong popular support, especially if she remains out of jail. "Cristina will continue her political career; that's why she's choosing to stay in Buenos Aires, in her department of San José," a source close to the former president told Reuters. Kirchner did not respond to a Reuters interview request. 'MARTYRED LEADER' Peronists are divided over whether her political ban will help the movement reinvent itself or if she will cast an even longer shadow than before, hurting up-and-comers like Buenos Aires governor Axel Kicillof who have clashed with her. "This is detrimental to the renewal, because she's now the martyred leader. She's the center of attention," said a source from Kicillof's Buenos Aires provincial government. Kirchner still enjoys significant popular support from close to 30% of the population, polls show, although she is highly divisive - in part due to the corruption cases against her - and would likely struggle to win election. Analysts said that the court ruling could ultimately allow for the party's modernization, at a time some of its leaders, like Kicillof, claim Peronism as a movement is being banished. "For Peronism, it represents the possibility of renewal. Kicillof is playing the victim and, at the same time, becoming independent," said political scientist Andrés Malamud. The ban against Kirchner will take some of the sting out of her bitter rivalry with Milei, but a new more moderate challenger from the Peronist left could hurt the Argentine president if he slips up. "If Milei can keep the economy steady, nothing will happen, but if this doesn't work, it will probably strengthen Kicillof," said analyst Mariel Fornoni from consultancy Management & Fit. The latest polls showed a tie in the important province of Buenos Aires between Milei's La Libertad Avanza and the Peronist opposition for the midterm elections, according to data from the Electoral Observatory. Victory would not give the ruling party a majority in either chamber of Argentina's Congress, but a larger number of legislators would make it easier for the government to approve privatizations of public companies and tax and labor reforms. "Cristina's conviction gives the government a campaign argument it didn't have. Now it won't need to discuss the economic model," said the Buenos Aires government source. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
British and Spanish PMs agree Gibraltar deal unlocks 'huge opportunity'
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attends a bilateral meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Britain, Thursday, July 18, 2024. Kin Cheung/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo LONDON - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a phone call with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, agreed that a deal on the status of Gibraltar unlocked the opportunity for both countries to advance bilateral relationship, Starmer's office said on Wednesday. "Prime Minister Sánchez congratulated the Prime Minister on his leadership," a Downing Street spokesperson said. "Both leaders also agreed that this development unlocks huge opportunity to advance the bilateral relationship between the UK and Spain, on behalf of the British and Spanish people." Starmer also spoke to Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo, the spokesperson said, adding that they both agreed the agreement would allow them to "plan for the long-term while protecting British sovereignty." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
