Gus Carter Gus Carter

China hawks suffer a setback

The House of Commons was due to vote on the so-called ‘genocide amendment’ to the Trade Bill later today. The proposal gives British courts the right to decide if a country is committing genocide and was on course to trigger a major Tory rebellion — with China hawks ready to take a stand. However, that plan has been made much harder. The government intervened last night in a bid to avoid a possible defeat. 

With the UK now free to forge its own trade deals, new legislation is passing through the Commons on the framework for future dealmaking. There is growing support across the House for a principled approach — with a focus on China top of the list. Although the UK isn’t currently planning to do a trade deal with China, backbench MPs are keen to send a message; Beijing’s treatment of Muslim Uyghurs will not be ignored.

The China hawks have become increasingly hard to control from a No. 10 perspective

The crossbench peer Lord Alton put forward an amendment that would create a process for blocking trade deals should a potential partner be accused of genocide. Currently, it is the remit of international courts to decide whether genocide has taken place. Under Alton’s amendment, those seeking to block a deal would be able to take their case to the High Court in London. Should the High Court rule that a genocide had taken place, any potential trade deal would then face further parliamentary scrutiny and could potentially be blocked. Campaigners cite flaws in the current international system — pointing to China’s ability to put a stop to that process by using their veto on the permanent security council at the United Nations. 

However, the government is opposed to the so-called genocide amendment, arguing that trade decisions are for politicians rather than judges. Ministers are worried that it could be used to prevent trade with lots of countries — for example, activists could attempt to undermine any future relationship with Israel by bringing a genocide case over alleged poor treatment of Palestinians.

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