Committee takes evidence from Ministers on UK-China relationship
The House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee will take evidence from Ministers from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for International Trade.
The Committee will ask about the Government’s priorities for its relationship with China, the goals of the Integrated Review with regard to the “Indo-Pacific tilt”, and how it plans to balance economic cooperation with China with concerns around issues such as human rights.
Meeting details
At 10.00am: Oral evidence
Inquiry
The UK’s security and trade relationship with China
Minister for Exports at Department for International Trade
Minister for Asia at Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office
Deputy Director, North America, China and Asia Pacific, at Department for International Trade
Interim Director, North East Asia and China at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Possible questions:
- What are the Government’s priorities for its relationship with China? What values is it trying to uphold?
- We have heard that there is a significant imbalance in knowledge between the UK and China, with the UK knowing far less about China and its culture than the reverse. How might the Government seek to redress this imbalance, particularly within Whitehall and the civil service?
- The Integrated Review defines China as a ‘systemic competitor’. What does this mean? What are the areas of competition between the UK and China?
- How is the Government seeking to balance concerns around, for example, human rights and labour protections with ambitions to increase economic co-operation with Beijing?
- What are the Government’s priorities for an economic relationship with China now the UK has left the European Union? Which are the priority sectors for both exports and investments?
- How important is China for the UK’s higher education sector?
Further information