Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with Chinese counterparts on the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme since 5 July 2024; and what discussions (a) ministers and (b) officials have had with Chinese counterparts on their embassy planning application since 5 July 2025.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials speak regularly with the Chinese Government about a range of issues.

Decisions on which foreign powers will be placed on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme are taken on a country-by-country basis, based on robust security and intelligence analysis.

The planning application has been called in by the former Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the current Secretary of State will make this decision independent from the rest of Government corresponding to his quasi-judicial role.