MEPs travel to China for first visit in eight years to focus on digital economy

Brussels, 26 March 2026

A nine-member delegation, led by the chair of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee Anna Cavazzini, will visit Beijing and Shanghai from 31 March to 2 April. The visit will enhance EU lawmakers’ understanding of China’s innovative tech sector and e-commerce dominance, while examining how EU rules are complied with in practice.

This is the first Parliamentary delegation to China in eight years and an important opportunity to address shared digital and e-commerce challenges and foster fair EU-China competition. MEPs are expected to convey the EU’s stance on digital regulation, strategic autonomy and safe digital markets, with a focus on enhancing consumer protection and product safety. A top concern for the Internal Market committee are the systemic breaches of EU laws and the high volume of non-compliant small parcels coming from non-EU online platforms, including from China. They are expected to stress that all traders, wherever they are based, need to comply with EU product safety rules.

Programme and composition

In Beijing, the delegation will meet with political leaders, including Shen Chunyao, Chairperson of the Standing committee of the National People’s Congress, and Luo Wen, Minister of State Administration for Market Regulation. MEPs will also visit the EU Chamber of Commerce to discuss online trade and market access challenges faced by European companies in China. The delegation will discuss consumer and product safety standards with the e-commerce giants Shein and Alibaba.

In Shanghai, MEPs will continue discussions on compliance with EU digital market rules and fair competition with Temu. They will also gain firsthand insight into China’s customs controls and import/export activities at the strategic Pudong International Airport, together with the China Customs Administration and a local logistics company.

The MEPs participating in the delegation are IMCO chair and delegation head Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA, DE), Andreas Schwab (EPP, DE), Dirk Gotink (EPP, NL), Christel Schaldemose (S&D, DK), Pierre Jovet (S&D, FR), Virginie Joron (Pfe, FR), Piotr Muller (ECR, PL), Stephanie Yon-Courtin (Renew, FR), and Engin Eroglu (Renew, DE), chair of Parliament’s delegation to China.

Background

China is the EU’s third largest trading partner (after the US and the UK), and second when it comes to goods. The EU’s trade deficit with China has been growing, reaching €305.8 billion in 2024, with imports primarily consisting of machinery, vehicles, and other manufactured goods. The EU’s economic relationship with China is perceived as unbalanced, due to a significant asymmetry in respective market openings. According to the Commission, e-commerce imports have surged in the EU via online marketplaces (e.g. Temu, Shein, Alibaba) with 4.6 billion small packages entering the EU market in 2024, 91% of which from China. In 2025, the Safety Gate system registered 4,671 dangerous product alerts, 2,006 of which were for products originating in China.

Further information

Source – EU Parliament