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Diplomacy
ChinaDiplomacy

US and EU officials meet to discuss concerns about China moves, including in Xinjiang and Hong Kong

  • Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Stefano Sannino of the EU also say Taiwan needs ‘meaningful participation’ in multilateral forums like the WHO
  • Their joint statement, though, carries no policy declarations and makes no mention of any possible boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics

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Top US and EU diplomats met in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss their shared concerns about China. Photo: AFP
Owen Churchill
Senior diplomats from the United States and European Union met on Wednesday to discuss their litany of grievances about Beijing, from human rights in Xinjiang and the erosion of autonomy in Hong Kong to economic “coercion” and China’s actions in the South China Sea.

Held in Brussels, the meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Stefano Sannino, the head of the European External Action Service, marked the resumption of a high-level US-EU strategic dialogue on China that was announced in October during the Trump administration.

Among the areas of shared concern the officials addressed were “human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, the erosion of autonomy and democratic processes in Hong Kong, economic coercion, disinformation campaigns, and regional security issues, in particular the situation in the South China Sea,” according to a joint statement.
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Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, shown in a screenshot during her Senate confirmation hearing, said the US and EU hope to pursue “constructive engagement with China” on issues like climate change and nuclear non-proliferation.
Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, shown in a screenshot during her Senate confirmation hearing, said the US and EU hope to pursue “constructive engagement with China” on issues like climate change and nuclear non-proliferation.

Also under discussion was the need to grant Taiwan “meaningful participation” in multilateral forums, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Health Assembly, the United Nations body that governs the WHO.

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The calls follow an appeal by the Group of Seven nations last month for Taiwan to be given observer status at the assembly. Beijing – which regards the self-ruled island as a breakaway province which must eventually be reunited with the mainland – has blocked such efforts, citing the need to “safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

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