Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the steps taken by the US Government to sanction (a) GCL-Poly, (b) Longi Solar, (c) Hongyuan New Material Co. and (d) Tongwei Solar.

The Government is committed to tackling the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains and is taking robust action. We have previously imposed sanctions on a range of Chinese actors responsible for the human rights violations in Xinjiang, in coordination with international partners. Sanctions are just one tool at our disposal, and we have also taken wider action including providing guidance to business, introducing enhanced export controls, announcing penalties under the Modern Slavery Act, and mobilising international support to hold China to account. The Government will continue to impress upon China the need to end serious human rights violations.