China lifts sanctions on British MPs as part of Starmer visit

SHANGHAI — China has lifted sanctions it imposed almost five years ago on a group of serving British parliamentarians who criticized Beijing’s record on human rights.

Nine British citizens, including five MPs and two members of the House of Lords, were sanctioned after speaking out, including about what campaigners allege is a genocide against the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer told broadcasters on Friday that he had secured the move from Chinese President Xi Jinping in three hours of talks in Beijing on Thursday.

He told the BBC: “I did raise it. And the response of the Chinese as a result of our discussions is that the restrictions no longer apply. And the President Xi said to me, that means that all parliamentarians are free to travel to China.

“That rather vindicates my approach because that’s only because we’re here, that we have had the engagement.”

However, Downing Street later clarified that the move referred to “restrictions on parliamentarians.” Several other groups including academics have also previously been sanctioned by China.

Officials stressed that Britain did not offer anything as a quid pro quo for the move, and that Britain is not lifting any sanctions on Chinese officials in turn.

Ahead of the announcement, however, the group of parliamentarians issued a punchy joint statement saying they would “rather remain under sanction indefinitely than have our status used as a bargaining chip to justify lifting British sanctions on those officials responsible for the genocide in Xinjiang.”

“We would reject any deal that prioritises our personal convenience over the pursuit of justice for the Uyghur people,” the group, which includes Loughton, former Conservative Leader Iain Duncan Smith, and Deputy House of Commons Speaker Nusrat Ghani said.