Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of diplomatic and economic relations between China and the UK.

Mr Hugo Swire

Our relationship with China is stronger than ever. Last year’s State Visit by President Xi delivered £40bn in commercial deals, benefiting the UK economy, and establishing a new partnership to work together on global challenges. This global partnership is already delivering results, with the launch of a new visa agreement to boost tourism and business during the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond’s) visit to Beijing in January. The Foreign Secretary has also intensified co-operation with China on the Syria crisis. The Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Secretary of State, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne’s) visit to China last week was a further opportunity to strengthen economic co-operation bilaterally and through the G20, and encourage China to open up further to foreign investment and address over-capacity. The Government has a relationship with China which maximises the opportunities for the UK and allows frank discussion of difficult issues, such as human rights