EU Lawmakers Confront China Over Unsafe Imports and Forced Labor in Historic Beijing Visit

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For the first time in eight years, a delegation of European Parliament members has traveled to China to hold direct talks with government officials and e-commerce executives — pressing Beijing on dangerous consumer products, market access, and the shadow of forced labor hanging over global supply chains.

A Rare Mission With Real Urgency

Nine members of the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), led by committee chair Anna Cavazzini, visited Beijing and Shanghai from March 31 to April 2. The trip marks the first official parliamentary delegation to China since 2018 — a gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and a prolonged diplomatic freeze after Beijing imposed sanctions on several European lawmakers in 2021 over human rights criticism.

China welcomed the visit as a sign of stabilizing relations, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning saying it would promote exchanges between legislative bodies and help develop what Beijing called "sound and steady" ties with the EU. But for Brussels, the agenda was less about diplomacy and more about enforcement.

Billions of Parcels, Thousands of Dangerous Products

The scale of the problem the MEPs came to address is staggering. More than 5.8 billion low-value parcels entered the EU in 2025, with over 90% originating in China. European customs systems have struggled to keep pace with this volume — and safety records show just how serious the risks are.

In 2025, the EU's Safety Gate alert system recorded 4,671 dangerous product notifications, of which 2,006 — nearly half — involved goods originating in China. These include everything from counterfeit electronics to children's toys that fail basic safety standards.

IMCO chair Cavazzini was direct about the delegation's message: "We want to send a signal that it is vitally important that the internal market is not overflooded with dumped or overcapacity products from China, and that our rules on product standards are to be followed."

Meetings With Alibaba and Shein — Promises Under Scrutiny

The delegation held direct talks with representatives of major Chinese e-commerce platforms. MEP Christel Schaldemose, who met with Alibaba on April 1, reported that the company agreed to show measurable results within three months — but she made clear that past Chinese assurances had not always translated into action, and that the EU would continue monitoring closely.

MEP Andreas Schwab raised deeper concerns about Alibaba's market power. He described the company as a "gatekeeper" of the digital market, arguing that the way it structures data flows risks locking out competitors — a problem, he noted, not just for European companies but potentially for Chinese businesses as well.

The delegation also met with Shein co-founder Tony Ren, raising concerns about artificial intelligence copyright issues, sustainability practices, suspected forced labor connections, and compliance with EU consumer safety laws. The EU had already opened a formal investigation into Shein in February, partly over what regulators described as addictive platform design and the sale of illegal items.

A Trade Relationship Out of Balance

The commercial backdrop to these talks is a widening trade gap. The EU's trade deficit with China reached €305.8 billion in 2024, with imports consisting primarily of machinery, vehicles, and other manufactured goods. European policymakers describe the relationship as fundamentally unbalanced, pointing to major barriers European companies face when trying to operate in the Chinese market.

To address the flood of non-compliant parcels, the EU recently agreed on a landmark customs reform. It removes the existing duty exemption for packages worth less than €150, introduces a €3 processing fee starting in July, and establishes a new EU Customs Authority based in Lille. A central customs data hub focused on e-commerce is set to launch in 2028.

EU Commission analysis found that around 60 to 65 percent of sampled products — including cosmetics and protective equipment — did not meet EU safety standards. That finding has significantly strengthened the political case for tougher enforcement.

The Forced Labor Problem: Europe Lags Behind the US

Looming over the entire mission is the issue of forced labor — particularly the treatment of the Uyghur minority in China's Xinjiang region. Since 2017, the Chinese Communist Party has carried out a broad campaign against the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority group based in northwestern China. Estimates suggest up to 1.8 million Uyghurs have been held in political reeducation camps, with more than 3 million subjected to some form of forced labor.

The United States took legislative action in December 2021. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) created a legal presumption that goods produced in or linked to China's Xinjiang region are made with forced labor — meaning American importers must prove their supply chains are clean, or face an automatic ban on their goods.

As of August 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection had detained 16,755 shipments worth nearly $3.7 billion under the law, covering products ranging from textiles and luxury vinyl flooring to drones and automotive parts.

The EU has its own forced labor regulation, finalized in December 2024. But experts and legal analysts note it is structurally weaker than the American law. Unlike the UFLPA, which places the burden of proof on importers to demonstrate their goods are free from forced labor, the EU's approach is broader in geographic scope but does not impose the same automatic presumption of guilt for Xinjiang-linked goods. Critics argue this makes enforcement harder in practice.

What Comes Next

The underlying disagreements that have strained EU-China relations remain in place — including Europe's concerns over China's ties to Russia, export controls on rare earths, and the structural asymmetry in trade. The Beijing mission will not resolve those tensions.

The IMCO trip is set to be followed in late May by the European Parliament's official China delegation, led by MEP Engin Eroglu, which plans to travel to Beijing and potentially Wuhan for further talks with the National People's Congress.

For now, the visit signals that Brussels intends to treat product safety, fair competition, and human rights not as secondary concerns, but as central conditions of the EU-China trade relationship going forward. Whether Beijing will meet that expectation — or simply manage it — remains to be seen.

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Sources

1. European Parliament Press Room – MEPs travel to China for first visit in eight years: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20260326IPR39402/meps-travel-to-china-for-first-visit-in-eight-years-to-focus-on-digital-economy
2. South China Morning Post – European Parliament heads to China after 8 years: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348098/european-parliament-heads-china-after-8-years-members-say-its-no-sign-giving
3. EU Today – EU lawmakers press China over unsafe imports and market access: https://eutoday.net/eu-lawmakers-press-china-over-unsafe-imports-and-market-access-on-rare-beijing-visit/
4. EU Today – China welcomes first EU parliamentary visit in eight years: https://eutoday.net/china-welcomes-first-eu-parliamentary-visit-in-eight-years-as-both-sides-test-a-limited-thaw/
5. Pillsbury Law – Comparing U.S. and EU strategies to combat forced labor: https://www.pillsburylaw.com/en/news-and-insights/us-eu-strategies-combat-forced-labor.html
6. CSIS – Assessing the Impact of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act After Three Years: https://www.csis.org/analysis/assessing-impact-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-after-three-years
7. Hudson Institute – Strengthening Implementation of the UFLPA: https://www.hudson.org/strengthening-implementation-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-olivia-enos

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