On 21 May, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called on the EU to “abandon its confrontational attitude”.
His call came after the European Parliament voted the previous day on a resolution that MEPs would not consider the EU-China Investment Agreement (CAI) until sanctions imposed by Beijing on EU entities, MEPs and national MPs were lifted (see EUROPE 12723/16).
Zhao Lijian called on the EU to “put EU-China relations back on the path of dialogue and cooperation”.
This came a day after the Chairman of the Delegation for relations with the People’s Republic of China in the European Parliament, Reinhard Bütikofer, said: “CAI is now on hold. It is buried deep in the freezer, and China will have to lift the sanctions and move considerably on substance if they want to even get it on the agenda”.
See the European Parliament resolution: https://bit.ly/34brI4d (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)