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LONDON – High-profile companies with significant business interests in China are pouring money into a UK parliamentary lobbying group set up to promote closer ties between the two countries.
Data shows that wealthy donors including HSBC, John Swire & Sons, Arup and the City of London Corporation have made the China APPG one of the best-funded cross-party groups in parliament.
The group was at the center of a highly controversial effort to invite the Chinese ambassador to parliament in 2021, which was ultimately blocked by officials in the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on China has announced £110,000 in donations since 2019 from seven companies including HSBC, John Swire & Sons, City of London Corporation and the China UK Business Council. A new database compiled by Sky News and Turtle Media,
Additional analysis of public records by POLITICO shows that these same organizations, plus UK tourism body VisitBritain, donated a further £150,000 to the China APPG between 2016 and 2019.
APPGs are little-scrutinized cross-party groups set up by backbench MPs to explore policy issues or build closer ties with foreign nations, and are an ongoing political investigation,
China APPG infamously invited the Chinese ambassadorZheng Zeguang, to speak in parliament in 2021, despite Beijing banning nine British MPs who exposed alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The visit was swiftly blocked by the speakers of both Houses of Parliament, with Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle commenting: “I do not think it is appropriate for the Ambassador of China to be visiting the Commons Estate and our workplace when his country has imposed Sanctions against certain members.
All donations to the China APPG were made and declared in accordance with parliamentary regulations. However, given the commercial interests of some of those involved, lawmakers and transparency campaigners have questioned the appropriateness of the gifts.
Conservative MP Tim Lawton said: “Companies invest in APPG because they believe their interests will be served. You can be sure that if APPG China freezes Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui’s bank accounts by HSBC HSBC faced widespread criticism in 2021 after pro-democracy activist Hui froze local bank accounts under pressure from Chinese authorities.
Lawton said that “many [MPs involved in] China is deeply concerned about the threat posed to Britain by the APPG, Xi Jinping’s government,” and it was essential that the APPG “should work on the agenda of politicians, not the other way around.”
Steve Goodrich of Transparency International UK said that while APPGs can sometimes help with policymaking, “yet too many provide privileged access to private companies and foreign governments to parliamentarians,” noting that the China APPG The country “holds uncomfortably close ties to those with vested interests.”
POLITICO contacted all the firms and bodies that have donated to the China APPG since the last general election. Most, including HSBC, either did not respond or declined to comment.
However, the Sino-UK Business Council said it did not actually donate its own money, but passed on services provided by other businesses – such as catering and venue hire – to facilitate the annual Chinese New Year reception. did.
Heathrow Airport said it has been one of the sponsors of the 2020 Chinese New Year celebrations, “due to Heathrow’s role as the main gateway to the UK for Chinese visitors and [to] Highlight the role of airports in connecting British exporters to Chinese markets. A spokesperson insisted that the sponsorship had been registered through the proper channels.
Richard Graham, a Conservative MP and chair of the China APPG, did not comment directly, but highlighted a statement on the group’s website which said: “Our mission is to ensure that MPs are well informed about China.” Be informed from and act as a forum for discussion on all. Issues of importance to bilateral relations. ,
The work of the so-called country APPG is in the spotlight after Politico reports on its extent and funding foreign travel they facilitate for dozens of backbench MPs, as well sexual misconduct and drug charges by some politicians during APPG visits.
APPGs are permitted to use UK parliamentary premises for meetings and a special portcullis logo, but are not official parliamentary bodies and are largely unregulated.
A database of parliamentary records compiled by Sky News and Turtle Media shows that some of the other best-funded country APPGs include:
- Hong Kong APPG, which also receives funding from China Group and is funded by Whitehouse Communications, is a public affairs firm representing the pro-democracy campaign group Stand With Hong Kong.
- The APPG on Kurdistan in Iraq, which has received £114,000 from Gary Kent, an aide to a Labor MP who has announced that he receives funding from a Kurdish oil company. The sponsorship ends in 2021.
- APPG on Africa, which receives donations in the form of secretarial support from the Royal Africa Society think tank.
- APPG on the Polar Regions, which received £57,000 from the Guernsey-registered Mammoth Foundation, controlled by Swedish billionaire Fredrik Paulsen.
- APPG on Italy, funded by Italian-linked lobbying firms and the UK division of Italian cable maker Tratos.