Issue 363 | 18 Feb 2013

EU-China relations, money laundering, MFF and more...

Wu Hailong, China's EU ambassador, kicks off our special China feature, by telling The Parliament Magazine, that EU moves to criticise Beijing over its conduct in Tibet "sends out confusing signals" and "runs counter to the values and human rights principles of Europe". Meanwhile, EPP group chair Joseph Daul explains why China and the EU should act together - "A strategic partnership and full respect of the idea of stability and predictability in our relations is what we envisage in EU-China relations." Crescenzio Rivellini, chair of parliament's delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China, hopes that Beijing's economic reforms will open up China's key markets to European companies. He said, "China's new leadership has promised a series of economic structural reforms in order to ensure the expansion of domestic demand and reduce the gap between rich and poor."