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Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench) on Thursday, 12 June 2025, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 26 June 2025. It was answered by Baroness Gustafsson (Labour) on Thursday, 26 June 2025 on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade.

Xinjiang: Minerals

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that China controls at least one stage of many key mineral value chains.

Answer

This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.

The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL8392
Session
2024-26
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
China Forced labour Minerals Xinjiang
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk