HC Deb 07 December 1953 vol 521 cc1587-8
6. Mr. Hector Hughes

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the present policy of Her Majesty's Government in relation to China and particularly with regard to international trade between Britain and China; and to the claim of Communist China to representation on the Council of the United Nations.

Mr. Nutting

As my right hon. Friend said in the debate on the Address on 5th November, it is Her Majesty's Government's policy to work for peaceful relations with China. Her Majesty's Government's policy of encouraging trade with China in non-strategic goods has been stated on many occasions and continues unchanged. With regard to the last part of the Question, I have nothing to add to the full statement which the Chancellor made in the debate on 30th July.

Mr. Hughes

Does the hon. Gentleman not realise that I was not asking about the policy of the Government in the past? I was asking about the policy of the Government in the present. What is that policy, and what action is the hon. Gentleman taking to implement it?

Mr. Nutting

The hon. and learned Gentleman should have listened to the answer, which I will repeat, with his permission. As my right hon. Friend said in the debate on the Address on 5th November—which the hon. and learned Gentleman can hardly describe as "in the past"—it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to work for peaceful relations with China. Regarding trade with China, it is our policy to trade in non-strategic goods.