Members of the European Parliament have ended a three-day visit to Beijing and Shanghai after raising concerns about a surge in e-commerce parcels from China entering the EU and urging platforms to meet European consumer and digital rules.
The delegation from the Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee travelled from 31 March to 2 April for its first official visit to China in eight years, the parliamentary press service informed on Thursday.
MEPs met Chinese parliamentarians and regulators to discuss e-commerce business models, market supervision and differences between EU and Chinese consumer protection systems.
The group also visited e-commerce companies Alibaba, Shein and Temu, met EU company representatives and spoke with Chinese customs authorities.
MEPs discussed what they described as a “massive surge” in parcels arriving in Europe from China, with small parcels from China representing 91% of all small parcels entering the EU.
They also warned of an increasingly “uneven playing field” and said “structural overcapacities” in Chinese production were leading to the “flooding” of the EU internal market and harming fair competition.
Safety rules and customs fees
MEPs said they were concerned about “systemic health and safety risks” for European consumers and a lack of platform oversight, following what the Parliament called recent scandals involving Chinese e-commerce platforms.
The delegation urged platform representatives to introduce preventative measures and comply with EU digital rules and consumer safety requirements, adding that safety and digital standards apply equally to all companies.
Anna Cavazzini, the committee chair and head of the delegation, said the visit was intended to explain EU rules directly to Chinese counterparts and major e-commerce firms.
“The e-commerce model [is] shifting dramatically in recent years — it is a new reality but not a sustainable one if the rules are not enforced,” Cavazzini said, adding that consumers should not have to worry about health and safety when shopping.
She stated that “more needs to be done” to hold companies accountable, citing the sale of consumer products, the removal of dangerous toys “before they reach children”, and the payment of customs fees, according to the statement. “We want to see rapid improvements,” she added.
