Theresa May broke a promise to us. She had pledged to raise concerns over human rights with Chinese leaders, but then stayed silent during her public appearances in Beijing. 

During her state visit, the Prime Minister announced new business deals worth over $13 billion, and spoke of a new “golden era” of trade with China, calling the UK a “natural partner”. 

We know that trade deals can have a huge impact on everything from energy policy and the NHS to the rights of workers in the UK and abroad. Following May’s silence on the Chinese government’s human rights record during her trip, how can we trust her to strike these deals? 

Any future deals must favour the rights of ordinary people - in the UK, China and around the world - over the interest of corporations. Let’s demand May sticks to her promises on human rights and commits to transparency in all future trade deals

Yes! I’ll tell Theresa May to guarantee transparency and human rights protection in future UK-China partnerships and trade deals  

May likes to talk up her record on human rights. She talked tough on tackling modern slavery, claiming that she would “lead the way” on preserving human rights “freedoms and values”. But her government’s track record on human rights is a very different story, and toxic trade deals strike at the heart of the problem. 

The detail of these deals is often decided in secret, and big corporations can gain unchecked access to push for their own agenda in negotiations. Incredibly, MPs are not even guaranteed to have a say, which is why we are pushing for more transparency in the UK’s new Trade Bill. 

Millions of us came together to stop TTIP, the the toxic US-EU trade deal that would have allowed multinational corporations to sue EU governments and exert huge influence over national policies. Now, with Brexit looming, we know the UK is already setting up secretive ‘trade working groups’ and looking to negotiate hundreds of new trade deals. 

Whether it is with China or any other country, ordinary people can only benefit from these kind of deals if they are done openly, and if our rights are put ahead of corporate interests. 

We know from our work on TTIP, and its EU-Canada sister CETA, that SumOfUs members can make a real difference when we stand up for what’s right. Recently, over 7,000 of you emailed Liam Fox calling for democratic and transparent process in the UK’s new Trade Bill. Let’s make sure we keep the pressure on and push Theresa May to live up to her talk on human rights in these new deals.