Activities of Jo LEINEN related to 2017/2274(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Welcomes the constructive relationship between EU and China on climate action, especially in international climate negotiations and promotion of emission trading; calls on the EU and China to use their political weight to advance the implementation of the Paris Agreement as well as the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and urges a cooperative approach at the Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC as well as at the High Political Forum of the UN to become driving forces for a more ecological and climate friendly society;

2018/03/08
Committee: ENVI

Motion for a resolution
Citation 24

– having regard to the ~~nex~~41st EP-China iInter-parliamentary mMeeting, which ~~will take~~took place in Beijing in May 2018,

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Welcomes the efforts of the EU and China to formulate a joint statement on climate action during the EU-China Summit in June 2017; calls on both to adopt this joint statement in a timely manner to demonstrate the shared commitment to a strong implementation of the Paris Agreement and an active participation in the 2018 Talanoa Dialogue as well as at COP24; encourages the EU and China to take a responsible role in international negotiations by contributing to the objective to limit global warming through their respective internal climate policies as well as by financial contributions to reach the goal of providing USD 100 billion annually by 2020 for mitigation and adaptation;

2018/03/08
Committee: ENVI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Strongly welcomes the launch of the nationwide emission trading system in China in December 2017; takes note of the successful cooperation during the preparation phase between China and the EU enabling the launch; recognises the willingness of the Chinese leadership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; calls on both sides to continue their partnership within the cooperation project for the development of China's carbon market aiming at integrating further sectors, becoming an effective instrument that sets meaningful incentives for emission reduction and further aligning it to the EU emission trading system; calls on the EU and China to further promote carbon pricing mechanisms in other countries and regions by using their own experiences, expertise and exchanging best practice as well as engaging in efforts to build up cooperation between existing carbon markets;

2018/03/08
Committee: ENVI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1d. Calls on the EU and China to deepen their relations in other areas of mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions like electric mobility, renewable energies and energy efficiency, to continue and broaden the EU-China Roadmap on Energy Cooperation beyond 2020 and to intensify joint efforts on developing instruments for green finance, especially climate finance;

2018/03/08
Committee: ENVI

Jo LEINEN, Victor BOŞTINARU, Soraya POST

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the 19th EU-China A. Summit in 2017 advanced a bilateral strategic partnership, which has a global impact, and highlighted joint commitments to addressing common security threats and promoting multilateralism; whereas there are many areas where constructive cooperation can bring mutual benefits, including in international fora such as the UN and G20; whereas the EU and China hold three out of five permanent seats in the UN Security Council;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the EU's vision for multilateral governance is one of a rules- based order and of universal values like democracy, human rights, rule of law, transparency and accountability;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Welcomes the agreement to increase cooperation on research and innovation on flagship initiatives like food, agriculture and biotechnologies, environment and sustainable urbanisation, surface transport, safer and greener aviation, and biotechnologies for environment and human health that were agreed upon during the 3rd EU-China Innovation Cooperation Dialogue in June 2017 and the corresponding Roadmap for EU-China S&T cooperation from October 2017; calls on the EU and China to continue these efforts and to put the results of the research and development projects into practice;

2018/03/08
Committee: ENVI

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas~~, largely unnoticed in Europe,~~ China has been rapidly and systematically increasing its global influence, notably through strategic infrastructure investments and new transport links and i~~nfluencing~~s actively gathering support from European political and economic decision- makers, media, academics and the wider public~~, by building up ‘networks’ of supportive European individuals across societies~~;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Encourages the EU and China to continue with their partnership on sustainable urbanisation including areas like clean transport, air quality improvement, circular economy and ecodesign;

2018/03/08
Committee: ENVI

Nicola CAPUTO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses the need for further environmental protection measures, bearing in mind that more than 90% of cities do not comply with the national standard of PM 2.5 air pollution concentration and that, in China, more than one million people die each year from diseases linked to air pollution;

2018/03/08
Committee: ENVI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Welcomes the announcement by China in the context of the One Planet Summit in December 2017 to make environmental impacts of companies in China and of Chinese investment abroad more transparent;

2018/03/08
Committee: ENVI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Is concerned that infrastructure projects such as the One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative by China might have negative impact on the environment and climate and could lead to the increased use of fossil fuels in other countries involved or affected by the infrastructure development; calls on EU institutions and Member States to perform environmental impact assessments and to include sustainability clauses in any cooperation project within the OBOR framework; demands to establish a joint committee, composed of involved countries and third parties, to supervise the impact on the environment and climate;

2018/03/08
Committee: ENVI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Welcomes the initiative of the European Commission and the EEAS to draw up an EU-Asia connectivity strategy in the first half of 2018; insists that this strategy should include strong commitments towards sustainability, environmental protection, and climate action;

2018/03/08
Committee: ENVI

C. whereas the so called 16+1 format between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEE) was established in 2012 in the aftermath of the financial crisis and as part of Chinese sub-regional diplomacy; whereas Chinese investments in those countries ~~are wide-ranging~~is substantial but nonetheless not as important as EU investment and engagement;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a highly ambitious strategy used as well as a foreign policy and geopolitical tool, which therefore goes beyond the claimed scope of economic and trade policy;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas especially within the BRI, but also in its policy towards the EU and its Member States, China is using a multiplicity of channels, with different expectancies towards different EU actors, which presents a challenge to EU cohesion;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas cooperation between the EU and China in foreign policy, security and defence, and in the fight against terrorism is extremely important; whereas cooperation between the two sides was essential in reaching the Iranian nuclear deal; whereas China's stance played a key role in creating space for negotiations in the North Korean crisis;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas China is increasingly providing Official Development Aid (ODA) and is emerging as a major actor in development policy providing a much needed boost to development policy, but at the same time raising concerns about local ownership of projects;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas after the announcement of the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change the commitment of the EU and China towards reducing the carbon footprint is essential; whereas further cooperation and coordination between the two sides in this sector is needed, including in the field of research and the exchange of best practices; whereas China adopted a carbon emission trading scheme based on the EU's ETS;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

E. whereas on 11 March 2018 the National People’s Congress (NPC) voted with an overwhelming majority in favour of abrogating the limit of two consecutive terms for the posts of President and Vice- President of the People's Republic of China;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas in 2014, the State Council of China announced detailed plans to create a Social Credit System with the aim of rewarding behaviour that the government considers financially, economically and socio-politically responsible, while sanctioning non- compliance with its policies; whereas the project of social credit scoring will likely also have an impact on foreigners living and working in China, including EU citizens, and entail consequences for EU and other foreign companies operating in the country;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Jo LEINEN, Soraya POST

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas the human rights situation in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region is worsening, where Chinese authorities have reportedly begun using facial recognition technology and data collection to make predictive arrests;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the contrasting political developments of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan, with an increasingly authoritarian and nationalist party-state regime on one side and a multi- party democracy on the other, raises the danger of an escalation of the cross-strait relations; whereas the EU adheres to its 'one China' policy as regards Taiwan, and supports the 'one country, two systems' principle as regards Hong Kong;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Reasserts that the EU-China Strategic Partnership is one of the most important partnerships for the EU and that it still has much more potential for being deepened further and for cooperation in the international arena; underlines in this context the importance of strengthening cooperation and coordination in the field of global governance and international institutions, notably at UN and G20 level, and to promote all necessary reforms in areas of common interest;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the EU Member States to urgently and decisively step up collaboration and unity on their China policies, with a view to speaking with one voice, and strongly suggests taking advantage of Europe’s much greater collective bargaining power with China~~, and~~; in that Europe defends its free democracies so as to better face up to China’s systematic efforts to influence its politicians and civil society, in order to shape an opinion more conducive to China’s strategic interests; is concerned that China is also attempting to influence educational and academic institutions and their curricula; proposes that the EU and the Member States foster high-quality European think tanks on China in order to ensure the availability of independent expert advice for strategic orientations and decision-makingregard calls on larger Member States to use their political and economic weight towards China to promote the EU's interests;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Recalls the excellent cooperation between the EU and China in reaching the Iranian nuclear deal and the Paris agreement on combating climate change, and emphasises the common interest in defending such agreements in light of the change of attitude by the US; encourages further cooperation on issues of global relevance; welcomes in this regard China's contribution towards softening North Korea's position on its nuclear and ballistic missiles programme, and underlines that this complemented the EU's efforts for a diplomatic and negotiated solution of the crisis; emphasises in this respect that the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula is of absolute importance for both the EU and China;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the EU and its Member States to proactively promote its economic and political interests and to defend EU values and principles; stresses that multilateralism is one of the core EU values with regard to global governance and that it must be actively safeguarded when dealing with China;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Is convinced that the European economic and governance model, based on regional integration and shared sovereignty, has been uniquely successful with regard to prosperity, peace or human rights and is historically without precedent; calls on EU institutions and Member States to actively promote and present European principles in their interactions with China;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Strongly believes that EU-China common efforts can bring mutually beneficial results in the field of security and defence, including cybersecurity and the fight against terrorism; welcomes in this regard the successful counter-piracy cooperation since 2011 in the Gulf of Aden;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Highlights that the EU and China are both committed to the development of the African continent; considers it essential to coordinate their development strategies and interventions, in order to maximize the scale of results; stresses that this will help addressing the root causes of migratory flows and of terrorism;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Concludes that the Chinese Government ~~has~~ is using the BRI ~~found~~as a very effective narrative framework for elements of its foreign policy and that EU public diplomacy efforts need to be strengthened in the light of this development; suggests that data on all Chinese infrastructure investments in EU Member States be shared with ~~the EU~~EU institutions and other Member States; recalls that such investments are part of an overall strategy to have Chinese state-controlled or -funded companies take control of supply chains;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Is concerned by the slow and lengthy negotiations on the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment; underlines that once in place the agreement will allow for easier and smoother reciprocal investments; notes, however, the importance of addressing the issues of reciprocal market access and protection of investments, and more in general of ensuring a level playing field for European investors in China;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Notes Chinese attempts to influence educational and academic institutions in the EU; proposes that the EU and its Member States foster high- quality European think tanks on EU- China relations in order to ensure the availability of independent expert advice for strategic orientations and decision- making;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses that the creation of the National Supervisory Commission is ~~probably the most~~a drastic step towards m~~orph~~erging party and state functions, as it will merge the leadership and functions of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Internal Central Disciplinary Commission with those of supervisory bodies at state level; is concerned about the far-ranging consequences of this merger for a large number of people, as it means that the CCP’s anti-corruption campaign can be expanded to prosecute not just party members but all state officials, and all suspects under investigation will be subject to the new commission’s legal proceedings, without having access to civil lawyers and civil courts;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Observes that while the Social Credit System is still under construction, blacklists of non-compliant individuals and legal entities, as well as ‘red lists’ for outstanding individuals and companies, form the core of the current stage of implementation, whereby the main focus is onthe intention of punishing "offenders ~~on the blacklists and rewarding those on the red lists; firmly rejects the public naming and shaming of blacklisted persons as an integral part of the Social Credit System~~" and rewarding compliant behaviour is worrying; underlines the importance and necessity of a dialogue between the EU Institutions and their Chinese counterparts on ~~all serious societal consequences of th~~this matter, with a particular focus on possible negative pre~~sent central planning and local experiments with the Social Credit System~~percussions on EU citizens and businesses in China;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Jo LEINEN, Victor BOŞTINARU, Soraya POST

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Stresses that the institutional and financial strengthening of China’s diplomacy reflects the high priority given by Xi Jinping to foreign policy as part of his vision to turn China into a global power by 2049; underlines the fact that the establishment of the State International Development Cooperation Agency expresses the great importance that Xi’s leadership attaches to bolstering its global security interests through economic means; concludes, therefore, that over the next five years China will be more present and more engaged overseas~~, with diplomatic initiatives and hard cash~~ and that the EU and its Member States must find common answers and strategies to Chinese initiatives;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Urges the High Representative and Member States to continue the dialogue with the Chinese government on international standards of human rights and the rule of law;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Urges China to review its policies in Tibet, which far from creating stability are only heightening tensions, as highlighted by the over 150 self- immolations in Tibet since 2009; c~~Calls for the resumption of a constructive dialogue between the Chinese Government and the representatives of the Dalai Lama; urges China to give EU diplomats, journalists and citizens unfettered access to Tibet in reciprocity to the free and open access to the entire territories of the EU Member States that Chinese travellers enjoy; urges the EU Institutions to take the issue of access to Tibet into serious consideration in the discussions on the EU-China visa facilitation agreement;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Jo LEINEN, Soraya POST

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Underlines its concerns for shrinking civil society space, widespread human rights violations and arrests in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; urges Chinese authorities to free those reportedly detained for their beliefs or cultural practices and identities;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Stresses the importance of ensuring peace and security in the South and East China Seas, including through the peaceful settlement of disputes based on international law; underlines the importance of ensuring freedom and safety of navigation in the region;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Reminds that the "one country, two systems" principle has been the cornerstone of a very successful development of the Hong Kong SAR and that its long-term viability is of utmost importance; underlines that the people of Hong Kong have a legitimate right to continue to rely on a judiciary which is trusted, the prevalence of the rule of law and low levels of corruption, transparency, human rights, freedom of opinion, and high standards of public health and safety;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls for the EU and its Member States to do their utmost to urge the PRC to refrain from further military provocation towards Taiwan ~~and endangering peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait~~; emphasises that all cross- strait disputes should be settled by peaceful means on the basis of international law; encourages the resumption of official dialogues between Beijing and Taipei; reiterates its consistent support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), where Taiwan’s continuous exclusion is not in line with the EU’s interests;

2018/04/27
Committee: AFET