Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the US Commerce Department’s decision to add BGI Group to an economic blacklist of Chinese companies implicated in human rights violations regarding China’s treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.

HM Government has repeatedly condemned the violation of rights and responsibilities in Xinjiang. On 22^nd June, a British diplomatic effort helped deliver the support of over 40 countries for a statement on the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang at the UN Human Rights Council, calling on China to grant unfettered access to the region for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The US is a close partner, but we are an independent nation, with our own decision-making on what constitutes a security threat. The United Kingdom has no equivalent of the US Entity List.

As the passage of the National Security and Investment Act shows, we are strengthening our domestic toolbox in certain sectors. This Act will mandate notification of certain types of transaction to provide a proportionate defence against hostile actors targeting certain sectors. No single country or company is designated as ‘high risk’; transactions are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

In addition, large businesses operating in the United Kingdom are required to report on how they are tackling forced labour in their operations and supply chains under the Modern Slavery Act.