BEIJING: UK-China ties are now at a crossroads after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in his first foreign policy speech on Monday that the “golden era” of UK-China relations is over. Whether Sunak is continuing the status quo of “hot economics, cold politics,” or is seeking to become more hawkish and shortsighted on his China policy remains to be seen, experts said.
The “golden era” was proposed by the UK at a time when British politicians eyed China as a good partner in UK’s development. Yet incumbent UK leaders lack the same wisdom, with their chaotic China policies premised on nationalism, experts said. The ball is firmly in London’s court when it comes to reviving the relationship that is still consequential for the UK’s development, and the UK must resume pragmatic diplomacy and unhitch itself from other countries or small cliques for it to work.
In his Monday speech, Sunak said the closer economic ties of the previous decade had been “naïve.” He also suggested a hardening of diplomatic relations and called China a “systemic challenge to our values and interests” while confirming the UK’s defense and security strategy for the next decade would be updated in the new year, UK media reported.
Sunak also pointed his fingers at China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy and accused Chinese law enforcers of “assaulting a BBC journalist.” His irresponsible remarks were refuted by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He also criticized China on issues such as the Hong Kong SAR and the Xinjiang region. Sunak stopped short of calling China a threat, which was reportedly planned by his predecessor, Liz Truss, and he admitted that Western countries could not ignore China’s influence on world affairs and its ability to help with the shared challenges such as economic stability and climate change.
In response, a spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in the UK said the UK should not interfere in China’s affairs, and its remarks on Hong Kong and Xinjiang are calling white black. The UK should retreat from its colonial mind-set. The spokesperson urged the UK to discard prejudice and stop smearing China, not dance to the US’ tune or set obstacles in the way of developing China-UK relations.
The phrase “golden era” is associated with closer economic ties between China and the UK under former British prime minister David Cameron in 2015, when Cameron had tried to free UK’s future development from being limited to within the EU, and eyed cooperation with China as another engine for its development.
Yet bilateral ties soured in recent years after the UK pulled itself out of the EU and leaned closer toward the US, serving as Washington’s vassal in attacking China.
The golden era had already been affected when Boris Johnson took office in 2019, and the UK is the culprit of ending that friendly era, as China’s plan of pushing forward ties has not changed, Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
–The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
