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 increase in exports to Russia from (a) the People’s Republic of China and (b) some other countries since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022; and what steps he is taking to help tackle attempts to undermine sanctions against Russia.

China's continued failure to condemn the invasion is deeply disappointing and harmful to China's interests and reputation in Europe. We have pressed upon China at all levels not to offer support for Russia's actions. The Foreign Secretary spoke to his Chinese counterpart in August to stress that message. Internationally, we are working closely with the EU and US to engage third countries where we have seen a spike in trade in sanctioned goods with Russia. This joint diplomatic engagement is producing results, with a number of third countries agreeing to control exports of goods that are critical to Russia's war effort.