The 5th Meeting of the China-EU Round Table will take place on 18-19 May 2009 in Tianjin (China).

Brussels/Tianjin – According to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), economic and social rights in Europe and in China and the recycling industries are on the agenda, including related problems, such as the protection of rights in a context of crisis, the debate on core labour rights which have to be respected by all states, whether they have ratified the relevant international conventions or not. Both China and Europe have recently adopted a comprehensive legal framework to promote waste management and green investments. The key question today is how this is translated into the policies and practices in China and in Europe when the whole sector is collapsing because of the crisis.

As is reported, a tripartite workshop with the Economic and Social Council of Tianjin will be organised where the views of civil society in Europe and in China on the impact of and the responses to the economic and financial crisis will be discussed. The case of Tianjin, a city in which specific social programmes workers have been put in place, will be presented. The EESC delegation in Tianjin will be led by its President, Mario Sepi.

Before the Round Table, some EESC members will meet several civil society organisations in Hong Kong in particular on the topics of rights both in mainland China and in Hong Kong & Macao and also on the impact of the financial crisis from a civil society perspective.

The EU-China Civil Society Round Table was jointly established by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the China Economic and Social Council (CESC) in June 2007 in Beijing.

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