UK corporations requested to reveal China investments as Sunak mulls becoming a member of US in commerce bans

A bunch of British corporations have been requested by the federal government at hand over data on their investments in China, because the UK appears to take inventory of its enterprise ties to the state amid growing geopolitical tensions.

The federal government confirmed right this moment {that a} survey was despatched to numerous UK corporations final month looking for to grasp corporations’ investments throughout 17 sectors, together with robotics, communications, transport and cryptography, the coding of messages.

China was not the one focus within the survey, which was first reported by Politico, because it additionally requested questions on investments in different international locations together with Australia, Canada and even the US.

The survey additionally follows US president Joe Biden’s new nationwide govt order that appears to manage US corporations’ investments in Chinese language tech sectors.

A spokesperson for the Division of Enterprise and Commerce stated: “The Prime Minister and President Biden have rightly put our financial safety on the forefront of UK-US cooperation, as seen on the signing of the Atlantic Declaration.

“This Govt Order on outward funding provides essential readability on the US method. The UK will contemplate these new measures carefully as we proceed to evaluate potential nationwide safety dangers connected to some investments.”

The ‘Atlantic Declaration’, inked by Biden and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in June, commits the international locations to stopping know-how investments in “international locations of concern”, and gasoline advances of their army or intelligence departments.

Nevertheless, some have criticized the declaration warning that broad restrictions might hinder the nation’s financial progress and damage the UK’s semiconductor sector.