Schulz to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on 31 March

The President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz 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 and the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy.