Jim Allister: Stormont does not have the powers to strike deals with China, and it is very worrying that it has done so amidst security threats from Beijing

On Monday in the House of Commons I raised the alarming development that Stormont has entered into a strategic co-operation with the Chinese state. This is despite international trade being a reserved matter exclusively for Westminster.

Not only did the Chinese government host a major investment conference in Belfast last week, in partnership with our own Department for the Economy, but there is now a lengthy, celebratory article on the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK website promoting this collaboration in great detail.

That article boasts of “huge potential” in China–Northern Ireland cooperation and proudly details the event attended by 120 Chinese companies, including Huawei, ZTE and BYD — entities that many western governments associate with espionage and influence risks. It also reports the signing of the “strategic co-operation framework agreement” between Invest NI and Chinese state representatives.

Stormont has no authority to enter into strategic agreements with foreign governments. International trade and foreign relations are wholly reserved to the UK Parliament. Yet here we have a devolved department apparently entering into a significant arrangement with Beijing, complete with public fanfare on an official Chinese-linked website, and with no scrutiny and no consultation with Westminster.

When I pressed Security Minister Dan Jarvis on this, he said he would examine the matter carefully. That is welcome. I believe what has happened requires a full and urgent investigation. The public deserve answers:

• Who authorised Stormont’s collaboration with Beijing?

• What commitments or understandings were made?

• What access or influence has been extended to companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party?

• Why was Westminster not informed, given its sole responsibility for trade policy?

At a time when the UK government repeatedly warns of the security threats posed by China, it is reckless for the Stormont executive to act as an unregulated gateway for Chinese influence and state-linked companies. NI must not become a soft back door into the UK’s economic and strategic affairs.

I will continue to pursue this matter with vigour. The government must get to the bottom of it. The people of Northern Ireland deserve absolute transparency about what the executive is signing up to — and with whom.

Jim Allister KC, MP for North Antrim