US EditionChina has lifted sanctions on six British MPs and peers, PM Starmer says
China agreed to lift travel and other sanctions on six British MPs and peers after talks, while UK sanctions on Chinese officials remain in place, officials said.
- Sir Keir Starmer announced during broadcast interviews in Shanghai that China lifted restrictions on six current members of the British Parliament after his meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday.
- Beijing responded in 2021 by sanctioning senior British politicians with travel bans and asset freezes after the UK targeted four Chinese officials and a state-run organisation over Xinjiang abuses.
- The parliamentarians said, `We will not accept any reprieve that applies only to sitting lawmakers while others, including civil society organisations, remain sanctioned.` The five MPs are Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Tom Tugendhat, Nusrat Ghani, Neil O'Brien, and Tim Loughton, along with peers Baroness Kennedy and Lord Alton.
- The Chinese foreign ministry said the two sides agreed in principle to resume normal exchanges between the legislatures in Beijing and Westminster, while it is understood that Britain will not lift its own sanctions in return.
- Several groups remain sanctioned despite the easing for parliamentarians; China has been accused of crimes against humanity over the Uighur people, which it denies, while Sir Keir Starmer’s three-day trip to China since 2018 aimed to thaw relations and vindicated his approach.
49 Articles
49 Articles
Starmer ends China trip with a few wins - back home it's a different story
BEIJING, SHANGHAI & TOKYO – Exactly what did Sir Keir Starmer actually get from his tour of China this week? There were certainly some wins: the biggest was an agreement by Xi Jinping to drop the sanctions on six MPs and peers who have spoken out against Chinese human rights abuses in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and elsewhere. Reasonably enough, the Prime Minister painted this as the sort of breakthrough which would not have been possible without his de…
Elephants and football diplomacy on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ‘historic’ China trip
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer concludes an official visit to China on Saturday — a four-day tour of Beijing and Shanghai that he described as “historic”. Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Britain’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter Kyle visit the Bund in Shanghai on January 31, 2026. Photo: Carl Court/POOL/AFP. While in the country, Starmer discussed trade, football and elephants with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He…
British Lawmakers Say They Take ‘No Comfort’ in China Lifting Sanctions Amid Human Rights Abuses
A group of British lawmakers said on Jan. 30 that they “take no comfort” from China’s decision to lift the sanctions imposed on them, especially as the communist regime continues to commit human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is in China for a four-day visit, announced he had secured an assurance from Chinese leader Xi Jinping to remove the restrictions on sitting parliamentarians during their earlie…
Iain Duncan Smith: Starmer negotiated ‘bad deal’ over China MP sanctions
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said China agreed to lift sanctions against six British MPs and peers after his talks with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, insisting he had been able to raise "difficult issues" during their meeting.
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