mr president let me first outline the state of play in eu-china relations
our policy towards china is one of constructive engagement
as two major actors on the global stage our strategic partnership is increasingly focused on addressing global challenges
a key goal of the twelfth eu-china summit to be held on thirty november in nanjing will precisely be to work together to ensure success for the copenhagen climate summit and to address eu-china relations including human rights the financial and economic crisis and other international issues
but a strategic partnership is not about thinking alike on each and every matter
it is true that europe and china may disagree and have different views on some issues such as on human rights and democracy
the strength of our relationship allows us to discuss these matters frankly
human rights issues including the death penalty and respect for the fundamental rights of ethnic minorities are systematically raised during our regular political contacts and in particular during our human rights dialogue with the chinese authorities
this was the case during the recent twenty-eighth round on twenty november in beijing where we had a frank discussion on these issues
the eu's principled opposition to the death penalty and the call for its abolition in china are robustly conveyed on all occasions
the same is also true for the respect of the rights of ethnic minorities
let me reassure this house that we will also continue to raise those issues in other fora including at the highest level
my colleague commissioner ferrero-waldner had an extensive debate with you on tibet in march where she outlined the eu's position
i would like to recall some essential elements that the eu position encompasses
we have always supported the dialogue between the chinese authorities and the representatives of the dalai lama
for the eu human rights are universal and the situation in tibet is a legitimate concern of the international community
tibet's situation has invariably been approached as such
we have consistently passed this message to our chinese counterparts and listened very carefully to their views
commissioner ashton also had the opportunity to express here in july her concern over the unrest in xinjiang deplore the loss of life and express her condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims
the eu supports any effort that will help reconciliation in this region
the eu respects china's right to bring those responsible for violent action to justice but reaffirms its long-standing universal opposition to the use of the death penalty under all circumstances as well as the importance it attaches to the right to have a fair trial
the eu has raised these concerns repeatedly with the chinese authorities and reiterates its concerns in the two declarations published on twenty-nine october and on thirteen november as it always does in such situations
the statements called on china to commute any other death penalties passed in connection with the disturbances in tibet and xinjiang
moreover the eu will continue to press to be allowed to observe any further trials arising from tibet and the xinjiang disturbances
we all share the goal of a more open transparent china adhering to international standards on human rights and working together to address global challenges
we all hoped that the olympic games would be the start of more chinese flexibility with respect to the human rights of individuals
up to now this has not materialised
we must continue to work on the development of our strategic partnership and the respect of human rights as an integral part of our continued dialogue
the twelfth eu-china summit in beijing is a privileged occasion to do so at an important stage of our respective evolution
