Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in China on increasing (a) bilateral trade, (b) economic partnerships between the two countries and (c) cooperation in the shipbuilding industry.

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade is committed to supporting the UK’s bilateral trade and economic partnership with China and will make formal representations to his counterparts through the next annual UK – China Joint Economic and Trade Committee.

The UK continues to assist China with its aim to move up the value chain, to be a world-leading ship builder. These ambitions were recognised by my hon Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade when he visited Shanghai in March 2017 for the UK Maritime Showcase.