Recommendation 37

In a wider context, when in 2001 the People’s Republic of China was accepted into the World Trade Organization (following its admission to the UN Security Council in 1971 and the recognition of its national Olympic Committee by the IOC in 1979) it was expected that this would lead to less repression within China and a general improvement in international relations. It has not. In recent years, the Chinese government has tested and challenged the way we trade and engage with each other to breaking point, undermining the fundamental principles that have ensured peace and stability, and which were written by those envoys from the states that had so suffered in the Second World War, including China. It is incumbent on all countries and governments that support this system to find innovative ways of working together to hold powerful nations to account for their actions. Xinjiang is one example of what happens when states are allowed to act with impunity. We must ensure that this does not set a dangerous precedent.

Paragraph Reference: 67