Greece, a significant recipient of Chinese investment, blocked an E.U. statement at the United Nations last week criticizing China’s human rights record. A coalition of human rights groups said it was the first time in a decade that the European Union has not made its collective voice heard during the U.N. Human Rights Council meeting.

(Comment: China’s COSCO Shipping, owner of the world’s fourth-largest container fleet, took a 51 percent stake in Greece’s largest port last year. Earlier in March, Hungary, also a major recepient of Chinese economic assistance, prevented the European Union from adding its name to a joint letter expressing concern about reports of lawyers in China being tortured in detention).