James Cleverly will press Beijing to lift sanctions on British members of parliament during an imminent trip to China, when he will become the first foreign secretary to visit the country in half a decade, The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday.

In 2021, Beijing sanctioned five Conservative MPs known to be critical of China including Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former party leader, and Tom Tugendhat, the Security Minister, along with two peers.

According to the Telegraph, it meant parliamentarians were banned from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau, while Chinese citizens were banned from doing business with them, creating a host of complications.

The trip has reportedly been scheduled for later this month, though the dates have not yet been publicly confirmed.

Cleverly has repeatedly raised the sanctions in past meetings with Chinese officials.

During his visit, the Foreign Secretary is also expected to discuss the situation in Hong Kong and in Xinjiang.

Cleverly will also likely broach areas of potential cooperation, such as how the UK and China can work together to tackle climate change and secure global economic stability.

Not since Jeremy Hunt visited China in 2018 has a UK foreign secretary gone on an official trip to the country, the report said.

Staff Reporter