rights law. and to develop, implement and continue to adapt a strategy to maintain visibility of EU action on human rights in China, including a strategy on public communications; insists that EU and Member State diplomats must not be prevented or obstructed from implementing the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders; commits that the EU must prioritise providing protection and support for human rights defenders at risk; 16. Calls on the EU and its Member States to pursue a more ambitious, united and transparent policy with regard to human rights in China and to substantially consult and engage with civil society, in particular ahead of high-level meetings and human rights dialogues; underlines that the EU at the 35th round of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue emphasised the deteriorating situation for civil and political rights in China, including restrictions on freedom of expression; calls on China to act upon the issues raised at the Human Rights Dialogue, to fulfil its international obligations and to respect its own constitutional safeguards for upholding the rule of law; insists on maintaining a regular, high-level and results-oriented human rights dialogue; is concerned that the evaluation of human rights dialogues with China have never been public and has never been open to independent groups from China; calls on the EU to set clear benchmarks for progress, to ensure more transparency and to involve independent Chinese voices in the discussion; calls on the EU and its Member States to disclose, collect and address all forms of visa harassment (delayed or denied visa issuance/access with no reasons given and pressure applied by Chinese authorities during the application process in forms of ‘interviews’ with Chinese interlocutors unwilling to identify themselves) regarding scholars, journalists or members of civil society organisations; 17. Is seriously worried about the findings of the FCCC’s 2017 report that the Chinese Government has intensified its attempts to deny or restrict the access of foreign journalists to large parts of the country while increasing the use of the visa renewal process to pressure unwanted correspondents and news organisations; urges the EU and its Member States to demand from the Chinese authorities reciprocity in press freedom, and warns against the pressure foreign correspondents are experiencing at home as Chinese diplomats reach out to media headquarters to criticise the work of reporters in the field; 18. Notes that the PRC is the EU’s second-largest trading partner and that the EU is the PRC’s largest trading partner; stresses the constant growth in trade between the two but considers the balance of trade in goods to be skewed in the PRC’s favour; calls for a cooperative approach and a constructive attitude in order to effectively address matters of concern and exploit the great potential of EU-PRC trade; calls on the Commission to intensify cooperation and dialogue with the PRC; 19. Notes the findings of recent investigations that since 2008, China has acquired assets in Europe worth USD 318 billion; notes that this figure does not include several mergers, investments and joint ventures; 20. Notes that the PRC is a major global trade player and that the country’s large market could in principle represent, particularly in the current global trade context, a good opportunity for the EU and for European businesses; recalls that Chinese companies, including state-owned enterprises, are benefiting from wide open markets in the EU; acknowledges the remarkable results of the PRC in lifting hundreds of millions of citizens out of poverty over the past four decades;