Brussels, 07/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The EU-China dialogue on human rights will take place in the last week of June, a high-level EU official announced on 7 May. He said that during her visit to China on 25-28 April (see EUROPE 10838), High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton had reiterated the importance of this dialogue and of human rights. Ashton stressed the EU's concerns - particularly with regard to Tibet. “For China, Tibet is less an issue of human rights than of separatism”, the official stated.
EU High Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis will visit China for the first time in September to advance the dialogue on human rights - after which it will move on to the formal dialogue this summer. This dialogue and visit show “the agreement to remain committed to this issue” of human rights.
Discussions on Iran and Syria. During her visit to China, Ashton also discussed the situation in Syria. While the EU and China stress the need for the violence to stop and for a political process to begin, their points of view are different. “What is quite frustrating is that the initial analysis is quite similar but the Chinese and Russian conclusions are different”, the high-level official explained. “There is no convergence of views” on what the international community must do, he added. The EU and the United States think that external intervention is probably needed to break the deadlock and to set up a political process, while for China and Russia external intervention would not be productive and would be excessive interference in a domestic affair of a sovereign country, the official stated.
The two parties also discussed the Iranian nuclear programme. China is playing “a very constructive role” in the E3+3, said the official, quoting Ashton, who enjoys “excellent cooperation” with the Chinese negotiator. “There some (Iranian) movement but certainly not enough commitment”, the official stated, saying that the dialogue is very lively. He added that the situation would be clearer after the Iranian presidential elections in June, and that it is difficult to imagine that much will change beforehand.
China also stressed that the European weapons embargo to which it is subjected is “unjust” and “discriminatory”. “The embargo has been in place for some time and there are no imminent plans to change it”, the high-level official stated. (CG/transl.fl)