BRUSSELS – The European Union criticized China on Friday for asserting more control over Hong Kong and suggested the move would have an impact on China-EU relations, but the 27-nation bloc ruled out taking any action against its major trading partner.
The criticism came after EU foreign ministers weighed the need for a tougher policy on China, which has been accused of trying to influence European officials, against the potential damage to business ties between the Asian economic giant and the world’s biggest trading bloc.
EU member nations are often divided in their approach to China, but Beijing’s imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong — a Chinese territory that is supposed to have a high degree of autonomy under a