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East Asia

Yes, I can certainly confirm that. It was the basis of our concern last year. A number of European Governments signed up early on, and were probably going to get some of the prime, plum sites. We wanted to ensure that our participation was sufficient and that it began as early as possible. I hope that that matter has now been resolved and that we will have strong representation at the expo—20 million is, of course, a small proportion of China’s population, but a very large number of people none the less. The Government are considering how the lines of responsibility between UKTI and the China-Britain Business Council could be delineated further. I would be grateful for an update on that as well. China’s economic rise has led to a huge energy requirement, and the increase in manufacturing industry, commercial road and air traffic, private car ownership and the number of domestic electrical goods has sucked in oil imports. China is now the world’s second largest net importer of oil, and only this week a report by Chinese scientists admitted that it has failed in the last few years to make any progress on environmental protection. The Committee, therefore, welcomed the appointment of John Ashton to lead the Foreign Office’s work on climate change. Mr Ashton, who gave evidence to the Committee last year, told us about his ideas for EU-China co-operation on energy-saving technology. Now that he is no longer an outsider, but in the FCO, we hope that those ideas will come to rapid fruition and become reality as soon as possible. We called on the Government to work with the Chinese authorities on the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. The FCO’s reply concentrated on its various talks and meetings with the Chinese on that issue, but did not say much about specific projects. I would be grateful for more information on that. British companies have a huge opportunity in China, as they are world leaders in environmental and energy-saving technology. China needs to save energy and to modernise its industries in many respects. We need to get in there, rather than allow our European competitors to beat us to it, and do the work that presents such an opportunity for our economy. China has an interesting position on global climate change. At the Davos conference, the Prime Minister stressed the need for a successor to the Kyoto treaty, which cannot be brought about effectively unless India and China are part of it. It will succeed only if those two countries—as well as the US, EU and other countries—are signed up. What are the Government doing to achieve that? How optimistic are we that the Chinese will be at the forefront of that new agreement? China has 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. Even in Beijing we could feel the acrid air, which is unpleasant to breathe, and Beijing is not a major industrial city compared with others in China. It also has large Government buildings. Our report noted that 70 per cent. of China suffers from water pollution, that crop returns across the country are decreasing and growing desertification, including the encroachment of desert towards Beijing. China emits about 12 per cent. of global carbon emissions, which is expected to rise to 18 per cent. by 2025. To put that in context, the USA emits about 5.5 tonnes of carbon per capita, whereas China emits only 0.6. However, as China industrialises and living standards rise, there will be a massive increase in carbon emissions from China unless there are significant changes in technology. Water use, which represents a big problem in China, is increasing significantly. That problem is made worse because large parts of the country are not easily habitable. Those trends have a global impact, and our Committee has recommended that the Government increase their support for environmental projects in China. Perhaps we could have an update on that as well. Some of those trends have an economic impact, as well as an environmental one. China is heavily reliant on fossil fuel imports, and much of its economic development has been based not on its indigenous growth, but on foreign direct investment and cheap labour. The contrast with India is strong. Much of India’s industrial development has been indigenous whereas China has produced goods for foreign companies and export markets around the world. However, China’s population is ageing. It has a large work force, but many families have only one child. The baby boom generation that followed the great famine in the early ’60s, which led to surplus labour for the next 20 years, has gone. The one-child policy means that the Chinese face many years of an ageing population and fewer workers. China’s birth rate is already well below the replacement rate.