Lord Offord of Garvel, Department for Business and Trade, provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL9738):
Question by Lord ALTON of Liverpool :
To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the export control criteria used by the UK Trade and Investment Office following reports that it approved a partnership between the University of Cambridge and a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned military technology company that does an estimated 60 per cent of its business with the Chinese military, which reportedly involved the appointment of a former Chinese Communist Party politician to the university’s partnership programme. (HL9738)
Tabled on: 04 September 2023
Answer:
Lord Offord of Garvel:
The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is responsible for licensing the export and transfer of controlled goods and technology, including where this occurs through academic collaboration. The ECJU has no record of having granted an export licence for the University of Cambridge with the Beijing Institute of Aerospace Control Devices.
HM Government is committed to maintaining a robust and transparent export control regime. The Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, introduced in 2021, continue to provide a thorough risk assessment framework for assessing all export licence applications, including those relating to academic collaboration.
If the ECJU were presented with credible evidence of a breach of export controls, we would take these allegations seriously. We will not support collaborations which compromise our national security.
Date and time of answer: 18 Sep 2023 at 17:05.
