In the quiet corridors of Brussels’ diplomatic quarter, a high-stakes conversation unfolded on June 13th: the 40th EU-China Human Rights Dialogue. While framed as a routine engagement between two global powers, this year’s encounter was anything but ordinary. It came amid growing scrutiny of China’s domestic policies and its expanding international influence, casting a sharp light on the values clash between Beijing and Brussels.
Chaired by Paola Pampaloni of the European External Action Service and Shen Bo of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the dialogue saw candid—if often tense—exchanges over issues both sides consider core to their identity and legitimacy.
Europe Raises the Volume on Rights Violations
For the EU, this was a moment to press hard on longstanding concerns: the curtailment of fundamental freedoms in China—freedom of expression, religion, peaceful assembly, and equality. But the critique didn’t stop there. The Union delivered a pointed message on labour conditions, citing forced labour and transfer programmes, alongside persistent use of arbitrary detention, torture, and the death penalty.
China’s treatment of religious and ethnic minorities took centre stage. The EU called attention to the plight of Uyghurs, Tibetans, and dissidents, demanding transparency in the decades-old disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama and denouncing interference in religious succession, including the future selection of the Dalai Lama.
Notably, the EU also condemned China’s increasing use of transnational repression—efforts to monitor, intimidate, or punish Chinese nationals living abroad, including participants in LGBTI and civil society events on European soil.
Individual Cases: Names That Echo Across Borders
In what has become a hallmark of EU human rights diplomacy, officials named emblematic cases and demanded justice: from Swedish-born publisher Gui Minhai, still held incommunicado, to Uyghur professor and Sakharov Prize laureate Ilham Tohti, to detained Tibetan monks and writers, and citizen journalists like Huang Xueqin and Zhang Zhan—silenced for reporting inconvenient truths.
The EU also voiced deep concern over Hong Kong’s sweeping National Security Law, urging the immediate release of media mogul Jimmy Lai and barrister Chow Hang-tung.
“These are not just individual cases,” one EU diplomat noted off record. “They reflect systemic patterns of repression that the EU cannot ignore.”
A Dialogue or a Deadlock?
Despite sharp criticism, the EU struck a diplomatic balance by recognising China’s achievements in poverty reduction and infrastructure development. Still, Brussels insisted these must not come at the cost of civil and political rights. “Development can never be a precondition for dignity,” the EU stressed—a clear pushback against China’s often-cited “development first” argument.
The dialogue wasn’t just about China. The EU, under briefings from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, acknowledged human rights challenges within its own borders, inviting reciprocal scrutiny.
In a gesture toward transparency and common ground, the sides visited Italy’s South Tyrol region ahead of the formal talks. There, they explored the protection of linguistic and cultural minorities—a subtle but symbolic reference to how minority rights can be safeguarded in democratic systems.
Endurance and Engagement in an Unequal Dialogue
Despite deep ideological divides, the EU and China have committed to another round of talks, set to take place in China in 2026. The mechanism of dialogue grinds on—even as its outcomes remain contested and its limits ever more visible.
To many rights advocates, the process is less about diplomatic breakthroughs and more about bearing public witness: naming names, standing up for principles, and ensuring that silent suffering isn’t rendered invisible on the world stage.
“Dialogue doesn’t mean endorsement,” remarked one EU official. “It means we keep showing up—and we keep demanding better.”
China: 40th Human Rights Dialogue with the European Union takes place in Brussels
We acknowledge The European Times for the information.
