Schulz to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on 31 March

The President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz i will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, 31 March 2014, in the European Parliament.

The visit of President Xi Jinping, the first-ever by a Chinese President to the European Parliament, will be an opportunity to reflect on the future of EU-China relations and their political, parliamentary, commercial and human rights dimension.

Ahead of the meeting, EP President Schulz stated:

"The unprecedented visit of President Xi Jinping to the European Parliament and European institutions is a welcome signal of the importance that the new Chinese leader attaches to a strengthened EU-China partnership.

EU-China relations are key for the stability and prosperity of the world economy. We are highly interconnected and interdependent. For our relations to flourish, political dialogue - not only our commercial ties - must be reinforced".

In the framework of the visit, President Xi Jinping will also meet the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso i and the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy i.