Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Opinion
    Home / Opinion / Colin Speakman

    It is not in the UK's interest to sour ties with China

    By Colin Speakman | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2022-09-09 10:03
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    [Photo/VCG]

    It seems that the United Kingdom's new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, will be the least supportive of China of any of the last four Conservative prime ministers. David Cameron helped forge a "Golden Era" of UK- China relations, saying he wanted to be Beijing's closest friend in the West. Teresa May, inheriting the huge task of negotiating a Brexit deal, needed to show the benefits of the UK's future ability to negotiate its own free trade deals with China the obvious example. The relationship soured during Boris Johnson's premiership, but he admitted to be fervently Sinophile, much aided by his visit to Beijing as Mayor of London.

    Liz Truss, however, was not elected through a general election, but Conservative Party members voted for a continuity candidate who had remained loyal to the outgoing prime minister, Boris Johnson. More importantly, Liz Truss was the Foreign Secretary under Johnson and her views on the UK-China relationship are unlikely to change. The new prime minister has appointed James Cleverly as the new Foreign Secretary, providing continuity as he worked for Liz Truss as a Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. She has also appointed a known China hawk in Tom Tugendhat as Security Minister.

    In Liz Truss we clearly have a leader who wants to be tough on China. As Foreign Secretary at a G7 meeting of foreign ministers in 2021, she convinced her counterparts to include a line in the closing communique that condemned China's economic policies. In a 2020-21 Integrated Review of UK defense and foreign policy, the analysis of China was a mixture of "threats and opportunities" – concerns about differences in values and security issues, but recognizing the benefits of cooperation in trade and climate change. In her last week of campaigning for the Conservative Party leadership, Liz Truss said she would change the conclusion of that Integrated Review to declare China explicitly as a threat on a par with Russia.

    This positioning comes at a time when the UK is struggling with a huge cost of living crisis with inflation predicted to reach 13 percent or higher and needing to spend tens of billions of pounds on subsidies for rapidly rising energy costs. Liz Truss' plan is to pay for this in future years through economic growth, though the UK's economic growth has been weak for decades.

    China has made a significant contribution to the low inflation that the UK and other Western nations have enjoyed for several decades thanks to its ability to supply many products worldwide at affordable prices. Now is not the time to put that at risk. The ability of the UK to grow needs both investment and trade – China is a leading provider of outbound foreign investment and a key player in trade opportunities.

    It is expected that the UK will be able to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and this will be a major trade opportunity with Asia-Pacific nations, but China is the most important member of it and cooperation will be important.

    Overall, given the challenges the UK faces, as the nation mourns the loss of its sovereign of 70 years, as millions of families face unprecedented economic pains, as many workers are striking for pay increases and the National Health Service struggles with providing many services, one has to ask – Is now really the time to sour an economic relationship with China? A more pragmatic approach is needed.

    Colin Speakman is an economist from the UK and an international educator specializing in China.

    The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.

    If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.

    Most Viewed in 24 Hours
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    久久AV高清无码| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区系列| 精品无码人妻一区二区三区不卡| 中文字幕人成人乱码亚洲电影| 亚洲伊人成无码综合网| 国产品无码一区二区三区在线蜜桃 | 熟妇人妻VA精品中文字幕| 无码国产精成人午夜视频一区二区| 最近2019好看的中文字幕| 亚洲美日韩Av中文字幕无码久久久妻妇 | 免费A级毛片无码A∨免费| 亚洲爆乳无码精品AAA片蜜桃| 色综合久久无码中文字幕| 中文字幕国产视频| 国产∨亚洲V天堂无码久久久| 无码人妻久久一区二区三区蜜桃| 无码任你躁久久久久久老妇| 一本大道东京热无码一区| 日本三级在线中文字幕在线|中文| 久久久无码一区二区三区| 中文一国产一无码一日韩| 日韩中文字幕欧美另类视频| 人妻无码αv中文字幕久久 | 亚洲七七久久精品中文国产| 亚洲人成网亚洲欧洲无码久久| 亚洲男人第一无码aⅴ网站| 亚洲精品高清无码视频| 久久无码高潮喷水| 欧美麻豆久久久久久中文| 熟妇人妻中文字幕无码老熟妇| 亚洲人成无码www久久久| 精品久久久久久无码中文字幕| 一本加勒比hezyo无码专区| 中文字幕日韩理论在线| 久久伊人中文无码| 天堂网www中文在线| 99在线精品国自产拍中文字幕| 无码激情做a爰片毛片AV片 | 无码H黄肉动漫在线观看网站| 国产成人精品无码片区在线观看| 无码孕妇孕交在线观看|