Germany expects EU to impose human rights sanctions on China

According to diplomats, the EU is set to sanction four Chinese officials and one entity.

Germany expects the European Union to agree human rights sanctions against China, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in Berlin on Monday.

European Union flags flutter outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. (Reuters)

According to diplomats, the EU is set to sanction four Chinese officials and one entity - with travel bans and asset freezes - on March 22 over human rights abuses in China's Uighur Muslim minority.

"Yes, I do think there will be agreement," Maas said when asked if he believed the move would go ahead.

"With the human rights sanctions, we have created an opportunity to punish human rights violations, and we obviously want to make use of this instrument," he added.