Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding they have allocated to the Great Britain China Centre over the last 30 years; how that organisation relates to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; what assessment they have made of its contribution to diplomatic relations with the government of China; and what steps they take to ensure that human rights and other ethical considerations are taken into account when developing business links with China.

The Great Britain China Centre (GBCC) is an arms-length body of the FCDO which currently receives £500K per annum in funding. The Statistics on International Development (SID) provides an overview of official UK spend, dating back to 2009. The 2019 data was published on GOV.UK on 24 September and can be viewed through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2019). The GBCC supports UK objectives in China, including facilitating dialogues on issues of shared importance, and delivering projects on rule of law and judicial cooperation. The 2019 triennial tailored review of the GBCC concluded that it plays a key role in developing relationships and promoting understanding between the UK and China and has a disproportionate impact on UK-China relations relative to the funding it receives. The GBCC's mandate does not include developing business links with China.