Chinese sanctions against British MPs and peers have been lifted following Sir Keir Starmer’s talks with Xi Jinping – but the group of parliamentarians affected warned they should not be used as a “bargaining chip” in talks with Beijing.
The lifting of the restrictions, which included a ban on travel to China, was promised by the Chinese president in his talks with the Prime Minister.
But the MPs and peers, including former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, said lifting restrictions on them should not be used as part of a deal to ease sanctions on Chinese politicians involved in human rights abuses in Xinjiang province.
Sir Keir revealed the sanctions on MPs and peers had been lifted during a series of broadcast interviews in Shanghai, saying he had been “duty-bound” to raise the issue.
He told ITV News: “This has been a cause of concern in Parliament and for parliamentarians for some time and that is why I raised it on this visit.
“And the response from the Chinese is that the restrictions no longer apply and President Xi has told me that that means that all parliamentarians are welcome to visit.
“That underscores the point I’ve been making all along, which is if you engage, if you come and visit and have that leader-to-leader dialogue, you can not only take the opportunities which we have been taking, but also resolve some of the more difficult issues between our two countries.”
Asked whether he was confident the parliamentarians would be safe travelling to China, he told Times Radio: “Well, of course.”
He added: “This was one of the issues that I was, you know, bound to, duty-bound to raise it, and I did raise it.”
The Chinese foreign ministry said: “The two sides agreed in principle to resume normal exchanges between the legislatures of the two countries.
“China welcomes British parliamentarians who have the willingness to visit China more and experience the real China.”
The UK imposed sanctions on four Chinese officials and a state-run organisation involved in human rights abuses in Xinjiang province, including against the Uighur Muslim minority.
It is understood that Britain will not be lifting restrictions in exchange. In response, in 2021 Beijing imposed sanctions on senior politicians including Sir Iain, former security minister Tom Tugendhat, Commons deputy speaker Nus Ghani, Tory MP Neil O’Brien, former MP Tim Loughton and peers Lord Alton of Liverpool and Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws.
In a joint statement they said: “In response to rumours that Beijing is considering lifting sanctions on us in exchange for diplomatic and economic concessions, we wish to make our position unequivocally clear: we would rather remain under sanction indefinitely than have our status used as a bargaining chip to justify lifting British sanctions on those officials responsible for the genocide in Xinjiang.
“We would reject any deal that prioritises our personal convenience over the pursuit of justice for the Uighur people.
“We stand in total solidarity with our families, former colleagues, and the civil society organisations who remain targeted by the People’s Republic of China.
“We will not accept any reprieve that applies only to sitting lawmakers while others, including civil society organisations, remain sanctioned.”
It is unclear whether the easing of sanctions will apply to Mr Loughton, who left Parliament at the 2024 election. By David Hughes and Christopher McKeon in Shanghai, PA Media
