A Greek foreign ministry official said Athens blocked the statement, calling it „unconstructive criticism of China“ and said separate EU talks with China outside the UN were a better avenue for discussions.

It should be noted and understood that China and some European countries have a different focus and criteria to evaluate human rights, Chang Jian, director of the Center for the Study of Human Rights in Nankai University, told the Global Times on Sunday, after returning from a Geneva conference on human rights on Wednesday.