Chinese sanctions against British MPs and peers have been lifted but the group of parliamentarians affected said it sent a “damaging signal” because restrictions remained in place on other campaigners.
The easing of the measures, which included a ban on travel to China, was promised by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in his talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
But the MPs and peers, including former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, said they would not stop speaking out against human rights abuses, including the targeting of the Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang province.
And they said the “selective lifting of sanctions solely on sitting parliamentarians is wrong” while others remained subject to the measures, possibly including their own families.
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.”
It is understood that Britain will not be lifting restrictions in exchange.
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.
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 they wanted “clear assurances” that the UK’s sanctions against the four Chinese government officials remained in place.
And they said it appeared that sanctions against Mr Loughton, as a former MP, and the other campaigners remained in place.
“The selective lifting of sanctions solely on sitting parliamentarians is wrong,” they said.
“Parliament exists to represent and defend the people of the United Kingdom.
“Seeking or accepting preferential treatment for current MPs and peers sends a damaging signal that some are more deserving of protection than others.”
They said they could take “no comfort in this decision” while pro-democracy campaigner and British citizen Jimmy Lai remained imprisoned and the Uighurs continued to suffer atrocities.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch also cast doubt on the move, suggesting the Chinese government had done so to pave the way for Mr Xi to visit the UK Parliament, and that they could be re-imposed after that.
“Let’s see how long this lasts,” she said.
“I think that this is something that they have done so that the Chinese president can have a visit to Parliament.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if sanctions go back after that… we need to stop being naive and think that if we go on a visit and then they lift sanctions, everything is fine.”
She added: “Labour weak, and what they’ve done is just given China everything they want for absolutely nothing in return.”
