The European Union and China held their annual Human Rights Dial... 1 of 3 https://www.eeas.europa.eu/node/48217_en The Diplomatic Service of the European Union EEAS > Search in the EEAS archive > The European Union and China held their annual Human Rights Dialogue THIS CONTENT HAS BEEN ARCHIVED The European Union and China held their annual Human Rights Dialogue  10.07.2018 The 36th round of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue was held in Beijing on 9-10 July 2018. The two-day programme allowed for candid discussions on a wide range of human rights related issues in China, and the possibility of future cooperation on issues related to business and human rights, disability rights and the status of women. The Chinese authorities have delivered positive results in a number of areas, including poverty alleviation, job creation and reforms to the social safety net. The exchanges on recent developments in the European Union focused on migration issues and the protection of fundamental rights, in particular the protection of the rights of migrants and asylum seekers. The EU, while fully acknowledging China's progress on economic and social rights emphasised the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights and the need to give equal weight to political and civil rights. The EU recalled that China, twenty years after having signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has still not ratified it. The European Union emphasised the deteriorating situation of civil and political rights in China, which has been accompanied by the detention and conviction of a significant number of Chinese human rights defenders. This year's Human Rights Dialogue was held 21/10/2025, 17:06