MPs to quiz watchdog on ‘complex mosaic’ of UK-China aid ties

A parliamentary subcommittee will hold an information session on the issue of foreign aid flows to China tomorrow.

In April 2021 the then-Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced a 95% cut to UK aid to China from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The remaining £900,000 has been henceforth limited to “programmes on open societies and human rights”, along with the wind-up of previous activities.

However, other departments including the Department for Health and Social Care, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy remain engaged in numerous aid projects with China.

The sub-committee, chaired by Conservative MP Theo Clarke, will hear evidence on the broad range of UK engagement with China. It will scrutinise the work of the government’s aid watchdog, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) an expert-led organisation that monitors the impact of UK aid.

Wednesday’s evidence session will examine an ICAI report on UK-China development relations.

Members will question an ICAI Commissioner and an ICAI expert official.

China is the world’s second-largest economy, a major global investor. However, around a quarter of its population lives below the $5.50 a day poverty line and its average income per capita sits at just over $10,400 per person.

China’s growing income means the country is likely to become ineligible for aid under OECD rules in the coming years, meaning the nature of UK engagement with China is likely to shift.

China’s attitude to human rights has also been a growing source of tension in recent years. In March this year, the UK joined the US, Canada and the European Union in announcing a raft of sanctions on Chinese officials accused of “appalling” human rights violations against the country’s Uyghur Muslim minority.

China subsequently imposed sanctions on several British MPs, lawyers and academics including former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and Tom Tugendhat, chair of the foreign affairs select committee.