Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps he has taken to ensure that the Chinese government complies with the terms of the 1984 Sino-British Agreement.

In recent weeks, I have spoken both to the Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, and to the Chinese Foreign Minister, State Councillor Wang Yi. I made clear the UK’s continuing support for the “One Country, Two Systems” framework, which is guaranteed by the legally binding Joint Declaration of 1984 and enshrined in the Hong Kong Basic Law. I have also spoken to a wide range of counterparts on this issue and welcomed the strong statements from our international partners.

The Prime Minister raised Hong Kong at the recent G7 meeting, where all G7 partners reaffirmed the importance of the Joint Declaration and called for an end to the violence.

We will continue to engage the Hong Kong SAR government, the Chinese government and international partners, reiterating the fundamental importance of upholding the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy is what guarantees its future prosperity and success.

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