President of the European Council Charles Michel said on Friday that he discussed EU-China relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a phone call and that they agreed to hold a bilateral summit
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2021) President of the European Council Charles Michel said on Friday that he discussed EU-China relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a phone call and that they agreed to hold a bilateral summit.
"I spoke to President Xi of China today. On EU-China relations, despite differences, dialogue remains crucial. Agreed to hold EU-China summit and reinforce our dialogue," Michel tweeted.
The sides also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, noting that the international community should be united in calling on the Taliban (banned in Russia as a terrorist organization) to respect international obligations and ensure an inclusive government, another tweet in the thread read.
Relations between Beijing and Brussels have been strained over human rights violations and a number of other issues. In March, the EU, along with Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, introduced a series of sanctions against Chinese citizens and organizations over their alleged poor human rights record and what the EU perceives as persecution of the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang. Beijing responded by imposing retaliatory sanctions.
