§ 18. Mr. PawseyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when was the last time he met the Chinese Foreign Secretary to discuss Anglo-Chinese relations; and when he expects the next meeting to take place. [4604]
§ Mr. HanleyMy right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary has met Foreign Minister Qian three times this year, most recently on 26 September. I have also met Mr. Qian twice this year, most recently in Peking on 2 September. My right hon. and learned Friend expects another meeting early next year.
§ Mr. PawseyI thank my right hon. Friend for that very full reply. Can he confirm, however, that the discussions that have taken place between him and our right hon. and learned Friend and the Chinese Foreign Minister covered trade issues generally? If so, can my right hon. Friend say whether there is any way in which we might expand the trade relationship that exists between the United Kingdom and China, especially in regard to heavy electrical engineering?
It may help my right hon. Friend to know that I have at the back of my mind the company known as GEC Alsthom, which provides probably the finest heavy electrical equipment in the world.
§ Mr. HanleyMy hon. Friend is absolutely right, particularly on his last point. There has been a very full programme of visits between Trade Ministers. Madame Wu Yi, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation, came to the United Kingdom in February this year, and Vice-Premier Li Lanqing visited us only last month, at the invitation of my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. My right hon. Friend made an excellent visit to China, with the largest group of British business men to visit China in history. UK exports to China continue to grow.
China is a major market for UK manufacturers of electrical and engineering equipment such as GEC. Recent GEC project successes in China were responsible for a significant share of the UK's £512 million-worth of 333 direct exports of machinery and transport equipment to China last year. I am very pleased to confirm that we have now opened our consulate general in Guangzhou, which is in addition to our consulate general in Shanghai. That shows that we are trying, in a direct way, to help British business in China.
§ Dr. GodmanWhen the Minister last met representatives of the Chinese Government, did he take the opportunity to voice his severe disapproval of the continuing violation of human rights of indigenous Tibetans? Surely he knows that many Buddhist monks and nuns are serving long sentences of imprisonment. They have been treated brutally simply because they have voiced their concerns about the autonomy that they wish to be returned to their country.
§ Mr. HanleyI agree with the hon. Gentleman, and I can confirm that human rights issues in China, including the situation in Tibet, are a matter of deep concern for the Government. We regularly express our concerns about those issues to the Chinese authorities. My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary did so during his meetings in Peking with Chinese leaders in January, and with Qian Qichen in The Hague on 20 April. I expressed our concerns during my visit to China, in September, and again—as the hon. Gentleman asks directly—with Vice-Premier Li Lanqing in London on 5 November. We have also taken action with our European partners, and co-sponsored a resolution on human rights in China, including Tibet, at the 52nd UN Commission on Human Rights, in April.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonMy right hon. Friend has been very helpful to the House in the information that he has given us today, but will he tell us just how much assistance the British Government have given to companies exporting to China? Although I should like our trade with China to increase—it is a very valuable customer, and it will be a growing customer—I do not think that any hon. Member would like to underestimate the eventual impact of the Chinese economy upon the world, or China's ability to flood the world market with a range of manufactured goods, undermining even further our own manufacturing base.
§ Mr. HanleyI understand my hon. Friend's point. It is important that we should remember that, potentially, China can be an extremely good market for British goods, but that threats can be posed by restricted or supported trade. My hon. Friend is absolutely right: we should ensure that we have the freest possible world markets and that they are not flooded by subsidised goods.
§ Mr. MacShaneWhen the Minister meets representatives of the Chinese Communist Government, will he make clear Britain's concern about the political refugees from communism who are now in Hong Kong? He may have heard yesterday the interview on the "Today" programme with Han Dong Fan, the trade union leader who, after next July, faces arrest and disappearance. Will he make it clear that the Government expect political refugees in Hong Kong not to be harassed, arrested or persecuted after the end of next June?
§ Mr. HanleyYes, indeed. Those issues are raised with the Chinese authorities regularly. The status of such people in Hong Kong is a matter of concern to us. We are still working on that matter.