Politico | Britain toughens stance on China as it eyes US
- Concerns about alleged espionage by Chinese firms and human rights abuses have given rise to demands for complete rethink of UK’s position
- Beijing might put London in ‘diplomatic doghouse’ after expected 5G ban on telecoms giant Huawei
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Charlie Cooper on politico.com on July 12, 2020.
Forget a post-Brexit trade deal with China – some now think a trade war is more likely.
The “golden era” in UK-China relations heralded by former Chancellor George Osborne in 2015 remained a go-to sound bite during the Theresa May era.
Mired in talks with Brussels on the UK’s extraction from the EU, the optics of post-Brexit Britain reaching out to the world’s great rising power was invoked by the former prime minister to help London burnish its new “global” credentials.
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But since Boris Johnson took power, mounting concerns about alleged espionage by Chinese firms, human rights abuses and protectionist trade practices have given rise to increasingly urgent demands for a complete rethink of the UK’s stance.
Johnson’s decision earlier this month to grant new visa rights to millions of Hongkongers, in retaliation for draconian anti-protest laws China imposed on the city, has infuriated Beijing and led to warnings of repercussions. Now in play: £68 billion (US$86 billion) of annual UK-China trade and billions more in Chinese inward investment.
