President. – It is a great pleasure, on behalf of the House, to welcome a delegation of Members of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, who are seated in the distinguished visitors' gallery.

(Applause)

The delegation members have come to Strasbourg to meet their colleagues in the European Parliament on the occasion of the 25th EP/China Interparliamentary Meeting.

Mr Wang Yingfan, Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, heads the delegation. It includes five members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, together with His Excellency Chengyuan Guan, the Chinese Ambassador to the European Union, and several high-ranking officials from the Foreign Affairs Department of the National People's Congress.

This afternoon the delegation will be travelling on to Athens, where they will continue their visit to Europe. I wish the delegation all the best for the remainder of their stay in the European Union.