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Welcome to the website of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with the People's Republic of China (D-CN). Our delegation, composed of 38 full members and 38 substitute members, is one of the largest in the Parliament. This reflects the immense importance of the EU's relationship with the People's Republic of China, both politically and economically.

In 1975, the European Communities, the EU's predecessor, and the People's Republic of China established bilateral relations. Over the years, both sides set up various sectoral dialogues between the EU and China, including on important bilateral and global issues, such as on trade and investment, human rights, and climate change.

The EU's 2019 Strategic Outlook defines the People's Republic of China as a partner, a competitor and a systemic rival, reflecting that co-operation between the EU and its member states and China is increasingly challenging due to growing differences in areas such as human rights, trade and investment, civil society exchanges, and adherence to the multilateral order.

While the economic relationship between China and the EU is of particular importance, trade imbalances, unsatisfactory market access rules and requirements for foreign investors in China that do not respect the principle of reciprocity complicate the overall relationship. The European Economic Security Strategy of the European Commission under President von der Leyen seeks to de-risk of dependency on third countries that could be weaponised in the event of a crisis. To pursue this goal, the EU has adopted various trade related legislations that also tackle issues pertaining to China's industrial overcapacities, economic coercion, foreign subsidies and the screening of foreign direct investment.

The relationship on the political level between the EU and the People's Republic is ever-complicated due to China's support of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, its territorial ambitions in the South and East China Seas, its aggressive actions vis-a-vis Taiwan, and China's sanctions against Members of the European Parliament and EU bodies . Because of this, the European Parliament notes in its last report on EU-China relations that "China is, of its own accord, clearly shifting the core of our relations towards systemic rivalry."

The D-CN looks forward to promoting parliamentary engagement, guided by existing rules and the European Parliament own position on China, such as reflected in various reports and resolutions. The delegation will work closely with other parliamentary bodies and liaise with the European Commission, the EEAS, as well as other relevant EU organizations and actors in in the Indo-Pacific region.

As D-CN Chair, I aim to foster meaningful exchanges with Chinese counterparts, keep open channels of communication and contribute to robust EU-China relations.

Engin Eroglu