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China and the West

The hon. Gentleman makes his point very well and I hope that the Minister will respond to those comments in his reply. I hope that that visit signals a renewed commitment to finding solutions to the many ongoing problems in Tibet. I welcome the publication of the UK national strategy on relations with China. Clearly, it is vital that we build strong ties as China grows in influence politically and economically. In recent decades, Britain's influence on the world stage has declined from what it was in the often-cited glory days. The best way for us to make our influence felt will often be to work closely with our EU partners and to be a strong voice in the EU. The Under-Secretary will be well aware of that, particularly given his new role, on which I congratulate him. Obviously, we have many points of contention with Chinese domestic and foreign policy, but we are increasingly learning to co-operate with each other on a wide range of issues from the economy to climate change. I look forward very much to hearing the Minister's remarks.