Invest NI defends signing agreement with Chinese body as MP highlights that international trade is not a devolved matter for Northern Ireland
Invest NI has defended signing an agreement with a Chinese body, saying that it does not stray into territory which is reserved for the central government in London.
TUV MP Jim Allister has raised questions about the agreement, both because of security concerns around Chinese influence and because international trade is a reserved matter which is not the responsibility of devolved nations.
It comes after the economy minister Caoimhe Archibald was accused of overstepping her powers last month when she told her officials not to take part in trade talks with Israel due to the bloodshed in Gaza.
Mr Allister's concerns stem from a huge Chinese investment conference that was staged in Belfast on November 11, organised jointly by Invest NI (a body belonging to Stormont’s Department of the Economy), the Chinese government, and the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK (CCCUK).
According to the Chinese government’s website Belt and Road Portal, it involved “more than 400 representatives from nearly 150 companies”, and was addressed by Aisling Reilly, Sinn Fein junior minister at the Executive Office.
The CCCUK account of the meeting says that a “Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Invest NI and CCCUK” was signed.
This caused Mr Allister to ask in the Commons this week: “How is that possible when international trade is a reserved matter? Will this government finally closely examine the operation of the Stormont Executive and their collaborations with China?”
Dan Jarvis, minister of state for security, responded that “I will look carefully at the points he has made and reflect on them”.
In a subsequent statement, Mr Allister said it was an “alarming development that Stormont has entered into a strategic co-operation with the Chinese state,” reiterating: “Stormont has no authority to enter into strategic agreements with foreign governments.”
He also said some of the firms at the conference, like telecoms giant Huawei, are ones “that many Western governments associate with espionage and influence risks”.
When contacted by the News Letter, the Executive Office said it was a matter for the Department for the Economy, which delegated the matter to Invest NI.
In a statement, the agency said: “Invest NI did not sign a trade agreement with the CCCUK.
“A trade agreement is a legally binding contract, typically agreed between governments, that defines specific trade terms such as tariffs, quotas, and regulations.
"The document signed on November 11 was a Strategic Cooperation Framework Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Invest Northern Ireland and CCCUK.
"It sets out broad principles for cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, and cultural exchange.
"It does not create enforceable rights or obligations.
"It is a high-level, non-binding framework designed to promote collaboration and explore opportunities for Northern Ireland businesses.
"It does not alter legal responsibilities or confer powers beyond Invest NI’s remit to support trade and investment.
“This MoU does not grant preferential access or regulatory exemptions.
"It is about creating opportunities for Northern Ireland businesses to export and attract investment responsibly, in line with UK law and security advice.
“The UK government held trade talks with China in September, recognising the significant economic value trading with the second largest economy in the world can offer.
"This MOU is our opportunity to ensure Northern Ireland businesses are well positioned to benefit and build on the existing £186m of NI exports to China.”
Asked for a copy of the agreement it had signed, Invest NI said: “Unfortunately we are not able to share a copy of the MOU without prior consultation with CCCUK.”
On October 16, Sinn Fein minister Archibald had drawn unionist ire when she announced that her officials have been instructed “to eliminate any risk of public funds being used to support the manufacture of arms or components that are used for genocide” by Israel.
She also said her staff “will not engage in the British government’s trade talks with Israel while it continues to illegally occupy and impose apartheid on Palestine”.