MPs accuse ministers of bowing to Beijing with invitation for Xi

The invitation has been criticised by MPs, with senior Conservatives accusing the government of ‘kowtowing’ to Beijing.

Queen Elizabeth II hosts a State Banquet for Chinese President Xi Jinping at Buckingham Palace in London in 2015.

A plan to invite President Xi of China to attend the Queen’s lying in state and funeral has been criticised by MPs, with some senior Conservatives accusing the government of “kowtowing” to Beijing.

Wang Qishan, China’s vice-president, will travel to London on Sunday to pay respects to the Queen in Westminster Hall. This is despite the country’s ambassador being banned from setting foot on the parliamentary estate.

The Foreign Office issued invitations to the funeral to all overseas heads of state with which Britain has diplomatic relations, barring Russia, Belarus and Myanmar. Xi, who has left China only once since the pandemic, was invited as head of state but has chosen to send Wang, his right-hand man. Other countries with which Britain has poor relations, including North Korea, Iran and Nicaragua, have been invited to send their London-based ambassadors.

Westminster Hall lies within the parliamentary estate. Zheng Zeguang, China’s ambassador, was banned from the estate last year after Beijing imposed sanctions on MPs and peers who condemned its treatment of Uighur Muslims. The decision followed a vote in parliament to recognise the Uighur persecution as genocide, a step the government has not taken. Ministers have said it is for the international courts to declare genocide.

MPs and peers sanctioned by China are protesting against the decision to invite a representative from Beijing, with some demanding that Wang be barred from Westminster Hall.

China’s vice-president, Wang Qishan, will attend the funeral in Xi’s place. Picture: AFP

“Given that the United Kingdom parliament has voted to recognise the genocide committed by the Chinese government against the Uighur people, it is extraordinary that the architects of that genocide should be treated in any more favourable way than those countries who have been barred,” the letter addressed to the Speakers of the Lords and the Commons said.

The signatories included Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, and Tim Loughton, Tory the backbencher, as well as Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws and Lord Alton of Liverpool. Tom Tugendhat, who was also sanctioned but is now the minister for security, did not sign the letter.

Along with Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Lord Alton and Baroness Kennedy I have written to Mr Speaker and the Foreign Secretary about the invitation to representatives of the Chinese government to attend the State Funeral next Monday.
You can read our letter to the Speaker below pic.twitter.com/MMEwwZyQf1

— Tim Loughton MP 🇺🇦 (@timloughton) September 15, 2022

Duncan Smith said the decision to invite Xi was “project kowtow all over again”, referring to the Cameron government’s efforts to build ties with Beijing.

In a message to Tory MPs on Wednesday, and seen by the website Politico, James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, wrongly said an invitation to the funeral had been extended only to the Chinese ambassador. By that time, the Palace’s invitation for Xi had already been conveyed to Beijing.

Wang was received at the British embassy in Beijing on Tuesday to sign a book of condolence for the Queen.

The Times