China may lift sanctions on MPs
China is considering lifting sanctions on British MPs in a sign that relations between the two countries may be thawing.
The sanctions were imposed in 2021 against five Members of Parliament, two members of the House of Lords and two other citizens.
All were targeted for calling out China's human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang province.
China has repeatedly denied any human rights abuses in the province, despite mounting evidence of mass detention, forced labour and forced sterilisation, among other offences.
Sir Keir Starmer has made a concerted effort to improve relations with China since he was elected Prime Minister and by advocating for ' a pragmatic and serious relationship '.
In November he became the first UK leader to meet with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, in more than six years and several members of his cabinet have visited China in the last year, including David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, and Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor.
These efforts seem to be paying off. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London told The Guardian that 'China has always attached importance to developing relations with the UK and that [c]urrently, UK-China relations are showing a positive momentum'.
The spokesperson added: 'Exchanges and dialogues between the UK and China at all levels and in all fields will help enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two sides, and will also help promote the continuous development of bilateral relations and practical cooperation, which benefit the two peoples.'
The five MPs targeted by China were Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, Tom Tugendhat, Nusrat Ghani, Neil O'Brien and Tim Loughton. The two peers were David Alton and Helena Kennedy.
All were banned from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau, any property they had in China was frozen, and they were blocked from doing business with any Chinese citizen or institution.
The announcement that the sanctions could be lifted comes days after several senior-level Chinese officials were in the United Kingdom.
He Lifang, China's vice-premier, and Wang Wentao, the commerce minister, were in London last week for trade talks with the United States where they met with Ms Reeves and Jonathan Reynolds, the Business and Trade Secretary, respectively.
Liu Jianchao, who leads the Chinese Communist Party's international department, was also in town last week, though his three-day visit was not publicised at the time. He reportedly met with Mr Lammy and Jonathan Powell, the National Security Advisor.
Liu, once believed to be a likely frontrunner for foreign affairs minister, has previously been accused of overseeing the forced repatriation of hundreds of overseas Chinese dissidents back to China, including some from the UK.
It's unclear whether China is considering removing restrictions on all nine individuals or only some, but it would be a promising step forward for relations with the UK.
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