China-EU relations with reference to human rights

Abstract

The diplomatic relations between China and the European Union have been established in 1975. However, unlike modern agreements between the EU and third countries, the legal basis of China-EU relations does not include a human rights clause. Therefore, the EU relies on political dialogues as the main diplomatic mechanisms to promote human rights in China. The main objectives of this study are to analyse the EU’s role towards the promotion of human rights in China, and the effectiveness of the political relationship between both blocs, with close reference to the EU’s diplomatic mechanisms. Moreover, China has been imposing strict control on Xinjiang through the establishment of arbitrary detentions and mass surveillance, imposing an extensive threat on the rights of minority Turkic Muslims within the region. Therefore, Xinjiang is the main case study of this study in order to analyse the approach taken by the EU towards one of the most extreme and contemporary human rights violations in China. Furthermore, Xinjiang sits in a strategic location on the map of the Belt & Road Initiative since it connects China to the rest of Central Asia. The European Member States will be forming part of the Belt & Road Initiative, thus the approach taken by the EU towards the region of Xinjiang is an important factor that determines the effectiveness of the EU’s role towards the promotion of human rights in China

The main findings of this study suggest that the EU Human Rights Dialogue is not achieving positive and tangible results with regards to political and civil rights, thus imposing a limitation on the normative power of the EU. Moreover, China-EU Summits should focus more on the promotion of human rights rather than the consolidation of the economic partnership between both blocs. The European Parliament has been the most outspoken institution towards human rights violations in China, especially with regards to the deteriorating human rights situation in the region of Xinjiang. The EU has still not imposed any targeted sanctions towards human rights violations in Xinjiang and has simply relied on the use of soft power which focuses on the condemnation of the situation through the use of public statements and the support to Uyghur asylum seekers. The EU shall take a coherent approach in the international fora of the United Nations and must also take a robust approach towards the human rights violations in Xinjiang, especially since the region is of significant importance to the Belt & Road Initiative.