On 17 July 2025, The Rights Practice signed a joint letter, along with 16 other organisations, to urge the EU to prioritise human rights in the forthcoming European Union (EU)-China Summit to be held in China on July 24-25.

We appreciate the EU’s longtime support to independent civil society and human rights defenders across China, and welcome public remarks, such as strong statements at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, identifying particular cases of concern.

Yet these EU and member states’ initiatives have not deterred Chinese authorities’ wholesale assault on human rights since President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012.

We urge the EU and its member states to confront this human rights crisis—which increasingly affects not only people across China but also people worldwide—with the same determination to identify and commit to alternative approaches as it is now setting out on security and trade issues.

CLICK TO READ JOINT LETTER