Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the five-year extension of Xi Jinping's tenure as president of China on their policies.

The recent 6th Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party's 19th Central Committee formally decided that the 20th National Party Congress will commence in the second half of 2022. This is widely expected to reconfirm Xi Jinping as the Chinese Communist Party's General Secretary, followed by the extension of his mandate as President of the People's Republic of China for a third term from Spring 2023.

China's increasing power and international assertiveness will perhaps be the most significant geopolitical factor of the 2020s. The scale and reach of China's economy, size of its population, technological advancement and increasing ambition to project its influence on the global stage will have profound implications worldwide and we expect these factors to continue.

We will continue to pursue a robust relationship that allows us to manage disagreements, defend our values and preserve space for cooperation where our interests align.