Question
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Johnson of Lainston on 19 April (HL Deb, cols 685–97) relating to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), what assessment they have made of China's relationship with the CPTPP; and what consideration they give when considering trade relationships to the resolution of the House of Commons on 22 April 2021 (HC Deb, col 1246) that China is responsible for genocide in Xinjiang.
Answer
The UK has welcomed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) members' willingness to expand the group, and that membership is open to all economies willing to meet the high standards of the agreement. However, as a non-member, we are not commenting on the specifics of other economies' interest in the agreement. Once a member of CPTPP, we would have to agree whether, and on what terms, any new economy could join CPTPP.