Members of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee will travel to China from 27 to 29 October for meetings on trade policy and its impact on European businesses and jobs.
The delegation, led by committee chair Bernd Lange, is due to visit Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, the Parliament announced on Friday.
MEPs plan to raise issues including the EU’s dependence on critical raw materials and technologies, China’s excess production capacity and uneven market access for European firms.
Talks are also expected to cover the flow of low-cost Chinese goods into the EU, the bloc’s planned Industrial Accelerator Act — described as “Made in Europe” rules — and a new EU–China agreement on hybrid car imports.
Meetings in Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai
The group is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese counterparts and officials, including from China’s Ministry of Commerce, according to the European Parliament.
MEPs are also due to meet representatives of the EU Chamber of Commerce, as well as International Monetary Fund and World Bank representatives.
In Hangzhou, which the Parliament described as a major technology hub, the delegation plans visits to two companies, Unitree and BrainCo.
Lange said the mission comes as “many issues remain on the table, from industrial overcapacity to access to rare earths”, and put the EU’s trade deficit with China at €1 billion a day.
China is the EU’s third largest trading partner when goods and services are combined, while the EU is among China’s top trading partners.
