To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of the People’s Republic of China on the development of the Chinese legal system to internationally-recognised standards; whether he expects such reforms to the Chinese legal system to be in place by 2012; and if he will make a statement. (165151)

We regularly urge the Chinese government to ensure that domestic legislation complies with international standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). During his visit to China in August my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, urged China to progress reforms and ratify the ICCPR as soon as possible. The Director of Public Prosecutions also raised ICCPR and China’s criminal justice system when he visited Beijing in September. The Chinese government remains unwilling to commit to a timetable for ICCPR ratification. In 1997 the 15^th Party Congress committed to developing a socialist legal system by 2010. President Hu Jintao’s speech to the 17^th Party Congress in October 2007 repeated the goal of

“speeding up the building of a socialist country under the rule of law”.