The European Parliament is one of the three major institutions of the European Union, responsible for EU decision-making, legislation and supervision. The EU-China Friendship Group of the European Parliament (hereinafter referred to as the Group) was established in December 2006 to objectively introduce China and promote the understanding of China by the European Parliament, so as to promote the development of China-EU relations, maintain China-EU friendship and promote China-EU cooperation at the EU decision-making level.
In December 2010, the "EU-China Friendship Association" (hereinafter referred to as "the Association") was registered in Brussels as an independent organization in order to promote China-EU relations in an all-round way, to ensure that the EU-China Friendship Group of the European Parliament can continue to promote China-EU friendship, and to support and ensure the existence of the EU-China Friendship Group of the European Parliament indefinitely. Its core members are members of the previous EU-China Friendship Group of the European Parliament.
The honorary president of the Association is Nirj Deva (former European Union member, former chairman of the EU-China Friendship Group of the European Parliament). The president of the Association is Derek Vaughan (former European Union member, former vice chairman of the EU-China Friendship Group of the European Parliament, current representative of the Welsh government in the EU). The vice president of the Association is Derk Jan Eppink (former European Union member, current Dutch parliament member), and the Secretary-General of the Association is Lin Gai(Secretary General of the EU-China Friendship Group of the European Parliament and the first Chinese to work formally in the EU).
Over the years, the Association (including the Group) has actively promoted China-EU relations within the European Union.
