Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions (a) he and (b) the UK ambassador to the People's Republic of China have had with their Chinese counterparts on the status of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

​I held a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador on 5 July in which I made clear that the British Government does not accept the position of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson that the Joint Declaration is an historical document of no practical significance. I stressed that on this basis, as a guarantor of the Joint Declaration, the British Government regards it as legitimate to continue to issue a six-monthly report to the House on Hong Kong affairs.

The Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Beijing also raised HMG concerns with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 5 July, stressing that the Joint Declaration is a legally binding treaty, registered with the UN. As a co-signatory, the British Government is committed to monitoring its implementation closely.