Latest news with #ReinhardBuetikofer
South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China lifts its sanctions on retired EU lawmaker Reinhard Buetikofer
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 April, China lifted sanctions on sitting lawmakers, but in a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola dated July 4 - reviewed by the South China Morning Post - it made clear that the move also applied to former MEPs who had been sanctioned, of which there is only one, Buetikofer, an outspoken critic of the Chinese government. 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.
South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
In bid to normalise ties with EU, China drops sanctions it imposed on retired MEP
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 April, China lifted sanctions on sitting lawmakers, but in a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola dated July 4 - reviewed by the South China Morning Post - it made clear that the move also applied to former MEPs who had been sanctioned, of which there is only one, Buetikofer, an outspoken critic of the Chinese government. 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.
