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Rishi Sunak warned on Monday that the so-called “golden age” of the UK’s relationship with China was over, but signaled his determination to engage with Beijing as he stopped short of describing the superpower as a “threat”.
The new prime minister, in an implied criticism of predecessor David Cameron’s pro-China policies, said there was “a naïve idea that trade would lead to social and political reform”.
He also criticized China’s handling of protests against Beijing’s zero-covid policy – including “attacking” BBC journalist Ed Lawrence – and said the country had posed a “systemic challenge to our values and interests”.
But in a sign that he wants to engage with Beijing, Sunak said in a key foreign policy speech: “We cannot ignore China’s importance in global affairs – issues like global economic stability or climate change.”
In words that worried some Tory MPs who are China hawks, Sunack said the West would collectively “manage this intense competition, including through diplomacy and engagement”.
He added that steps would be taken to reduce Britain’s economic dependence on China. The UK has banned the use of a 5G mobile phone network made by Huawei.
The Prime Minister’s speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet at the Guildhall in London was an attempt to map out a new foreign policy by a politician who has until now viewed international affairs through an economic lens.
During more than two years as chancellor, Sunak warned then-prime minister Boris Johnson about the economic risks of opposing the EU and a more hostile approach to China.
China hawks in the Conservative Party fear that Sunak will take a soft stance towards Beijing. As chancellor, he hosted a UK-China financial summit this year before canceling the event.
Tory MPs have voiced growing alarm about China’s influence in the UK after seven MPs were sanctioned by Beijing, including former Conservative leader Sir Ian Duncan Smith.
Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss took a hawkish position during the Tory leadership contest in the summer, suggesting China would be classified as a “threat”.
“The truss was on the right line when it came to China, but Sunak will need a nudge in the right direction,” said a senior backbench Conservative MP. “Sunk’s tendency is like many at the Treasury — to see China as an economic investment rather than engaging with it as a risk.”
Sunac said he wants stronger ties with Europe after Brexit, including a new security bloc championed by French President Emmanuel Macron, joining the European Political Community.
But he added: “This is not about over-alignment. Under my leadership we will never align with EU law. He said Britain would work with its European neighbors on issues such as energy and illegal immigration.
Meanwhile, Sunak pledged that the UK would stand by Ukraine “as long as it takes” after Russia’s invasion.
“We will maintain or increase our military aid next year,” he said. “And we will provide new support for air defense, to protect the Ukrainian people and the critical infrastructure they depend on.”
Sunak met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this month and outlined a new £50mn package of UK defense aid, including 125 anti-aircraft guns.
“Sunak is very inexperienced and is considered a work in progress,” said John Kempner, UK executive director at World Initiatives at Chatham House, an international affairs think-tank.
“But he has a huge advantage in that he will be cut loose by our foreign colleagues because of who he is not, rather than who he is. Diplomats will be relieved that the UK is led by someone who is calm and level-headed.”
“Sunak is trying to show that ‘robust pragmatism’ is a function of radical management of the status quo, rather than defaulting to what his critics have described as 1930s appeasement,” said Sam Hogg, an analyst and founder of China-UK, in an intelligence briefing. Beijing to Britain,
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