Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Chinese-owned Businesses: Contracts

Thursday 18 May 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Department provides expert guidance to help UK companies succeed in China.
  • The relationship with China balances trading interests with national security concerns.
  • The Government gives advice to companies investing overseas through various mechanisms.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Tim Loughton Con
Foreign Affairs Business & Trade
Context

The question arises from concerns about the relationship between UK and Chinese businesses, including recent votes on recognising genocide by China and legislation to restrict certain business activities.

Question

Whether her Department has provided recent guidance to companies negotiating contracts with Chinese-owned businesses. This House has voted to recognise the genocide by China. Legislation was passed to limit companies doing business in Xinjiang and to restrict Chinese companies from getting involved in sensitive UK infrastructure projects, including Hikvision, which reports increased sales in this country. What message does it send when a UK trade Minister goes to Beijing to promote Chinese investment?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

Our bilateral trade with China was worth £111 billion last year. The Department provides expert guidance to help UK companies succeed in China, including specialised support through the export support service and practical assistance from our overseas network. We balance trading interests with national security and values.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific guidance for negotiating contracts with Chinese-owned businesses was not addressed

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Q2 Tim Loughton Con
Foreign Affairs Business & Trade
Context

The House has voted to recognise genocide by China and passed legislation restricting certain business activities. A UK trade Minister went to Beijing to promote Chinese investment despite these measures.

Question

What message does it send when a UK trade Minister, from the Minister's team, goes to Beijing, feting Chinese Ministers for Chinese investment in the UK as if the golden age of UK-China relations was still a thing?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

The relationship with China has been laid out recently in the integrated review, the integrated review refresh and in the Foreign Secretary's speech. We balance our trading interests with national security interests, as outlined.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific message sent by the UK trade Minister's actions was not directly addressed

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Q3 Alistair Carmichael Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland
Foreign Affairs Science & Technology
Context

Concerns about the protection of British businesses' genomics data when trading or dealing with Chinese companies, particularly in light of China's national security law.

Question

What are the Government doing to ensure that the genomics data of British businesses held by British genomics companies is protected from being traded or dealt with by Chinese companies such as BGI Genomics? Is it not somewhat naive, given the terms of the national security law, to think that GDPR alone is sufficient protection?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

The Government give advice to companies investing overseas through various mechanisms. The Investment Security Unit analyses investment in the UK, particularly relating to acquisitions in 17 sensitive areas and keeps a close eye on these two-way relationships.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific measures for protecting genomics data were not detailed

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