Why Labour is strengthening ties with China after years of rollercoaster relations

Listen to Ankur work this article

The sprawling metropolis of Chongqing successful southwestern China is an unthinkable sight. Built connected mountainous terrain and crisscrossed by rivers, it is connected by immense elevated roads. Trains adjacent tally done immoderate buildings.

TikTokers person begun documenting their commutes successful the striking municipality architecture, generating millions of likes and overmuch hype.

But it is besides where, connected a somewhat quieter trip, mayors and their deputies from the UK precocious visited - the largest British civic delegation to spell determination successful history.

The full trip, which took spot successful March, received important Chinese media coverage, contempt flying much nether the radar successful the UK. The content it near connected immoderate of the politicians who travelled determination was vast.

"[The metropolis is] what happens if you instrumentality the readying section and conscionable accidental 'yes' to everything," reflects Howard Dawber, lawman London politician for business. "It's conscionable amazing."

The radical travelled to confederate Chinese cities, spoke to Chinese mayors and met Chinese tech giants. So impressed was 1 lawman politician that, connected returning home, they bought a mobile telephone from Chinese marque Honor (a stark opposition from the days the UK banned Huawei exertion from its 5G networks, conscionable a fewer years ago).

Roughly half-a-dozen deals were signed connected the backmost of the trip. The West Midlands, for example, agreed to found a caller UK office successful Birmingham for Chinese vigor institution EcoFlow.

But the sojourn was arsenic overmuch astir diplomacy arsenic it was trade, says East Midlands lawman politician Nadine Peatfield, who attended. "There was a existent hunger and appetite to rekindle those relationships."

To some, it was reminiscent of the "golden era" of UK-China relations, a clip erstwhile then-Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping shared a handbasket of food and chips and a pint.

Those days person agelong felt acold away. Political ties with China deteriorated nether erstwhile UK Conservative Prime Ministers Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. The past UK premier curate to sojourn China was Theresa May, successful 2018.

The caller delegation - and the speech of Sir Keir Starmer perchance visiting China aboriginal this twelvemonth - each suggests a turning constituent successful relations. But to what greater intent?

The people correction seemed to statesman with the closed-door gathering betwixt Sir Keir and Chinese President Xi successful Brazil past November. The premier curate signalled that Britain would look to cooperate with China connected clime alteration and business.

Since then, Labour's cautious pursuit of China has chiefly focused connected the imaginable fiscal upsides.

In January, Chancellor Rachel Reeves co-chaired the archetypal UK-China economical acme since 2019, successful Beijing. Defending her trip, she said: "Choosing not to prosecute with China is nary prime astatine all."

Reeves claimed re-engagement with China could boost the UK system by £1bn, with agreements worthy £600m to the UK implicit the adjacent 5 years — partially achieved done lifting barriers that restrict exports to China.

Soon after, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband resumed ceremonial clime talks with China. Miliband said it would beryllium "negligence" to aboriginal generations not to person dialog with the country, fixed it is the world's biggest c emitter.

Labour simply describes its attack arsenic "grown-up". But it each appears to beryllium a marked displacement from the past decennary of UK-China relations.

During the alleged "golden era", from 2010, the UK's argumentation towards China was dominated by the Treasury, focusing connected economical opportunities and appearing to formed astir each different issues, including quality rights oregon security, aside.

By September 2023, however, Rishi Sunak said helium was "acutely alert of the peculiar menace to our unfastened and antiauthoritarian mode of life" posed by China.

Labour claimed successful its manifesto that it would bring a "long-term and strategical approach".

China has a adjacent monopoly connected extracting and refining uncommon world minerals, which are captious to manufacturing galore high-tech and greenish products. For example, car batteries are often reliant connected lithium, portion indium is simply a uncommon metallic utilized for interaction screens. This makes China a captious nexus successful planetary proviso chains.

"China's power is apt to proceed to turn substantially globally, particularly with the US starting to crook inwards," says Dr William Matthews, a China specializer astatine Chatham House deliberation tank.

"The satellite volition go much Chinese, and whilst that is hard for immoderate Western government, determination needs to beryllium sensible engagement from the get-go."

Andrew Cainey, a manager of the UK National Committee connected China, an acquisition non-profit organisation, says: "China has changed a batch since the Covid-19 pandemic. To person elected officials not having seen it, it's a nary brainer for them to get backmost connected the ground".

Certainly galore successful the UK's China-watching assemblage judge that interaction is an indispensable information to summation a clearer-eyed presumption of the opportunities posed by China, but besides the challenges.

The opportunities, immoderate experts say, are mostly economic, clime and education-related. Or arsenic Kerry Brown, Professor of Chinese Studies astatine King's College London, puts it: "China is producing information, investigation and ways of doing things that we tin larn from". He points to the intellectual, technological, AI, and beingness sciences opportunities.

Not engaging with China would beryllium to disregard the realities of geopolitics successful the 21st century, successful Dr Matthew's view, fixed that it is the world's 2nd largest economy. However helium besides believes that engagement comes with definite risks.

Charles Parton, who spent 22 years of his diplomatic vocation moving successful oregon connected China, raises questions astir the UK's economical and national security.

For example, the authorities is reportedly weighing up proposals for a Chinese institution to proviso upwind turbines for an offshore windfarm successful the North Sea. Mr Parton warns against allowing China entree to the nationalist grid: "It wouldn't beryllium hard successful a clip of precocious hostility to say, 'by the way, we tin crook disconnected each your upwind farms'".

But earlier this year, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU issued a connection expressing interest implicit the "politicisation" of deals betwixt upwind developers successful Europe and Chinese turbine suppliers.

James Sullivan, manager of Cyber and Tech astatine defence deliberation vessel Rusi, notes determination are besides immoderate questions astir cyberspace. "China's activities successful cyberspace look to beryllium much strategically and politically focused compared to erstwhile opportunistic activities," helium says.

As for defence, the UK's precocious published defence reappraisal describes China arsenic a "sophisticated and persistent challenge", with Chinese exertion and its proliferation to different countries "already a starring situation for the UK".

Ken McCallum, MI5 manager general, meanwhile, has antecedently warned of a sustained run connected an "epic scale" of Chinese espionage abroad.

But Prof Brown pushes backmost connected immoderate concerns astir espionage, saying immoderate media narratives astir this are a "fairytale".

Beijing has ever dismissed accusations of espionage arsenic attempts to "smear" China.

Sir Keir and his squad volition nary uncertainty beryllium intimately monitoring however this is each viewed by Washington DC.

Last month, President Donald Trump's commercialized advisor Peter Navarro described Britain arsenic "an each excessively compliant servant of Communist China", urging the UK against deepening economical ties.

"When it comes to overseas argumentation towards China, America's power connected argumentation volition beryllium rather substantive compared with accidental continental Europe," says Dr Yu Jie, elder probe chap connected China astatine Chatham House deliberation tank.

Most analysts I talk to successful some the UK and China are inactive wide connected the request for the 2 countries to get backmost successful the aforesaid room, adjacent if they disagree connected wherever to gully the line: successful which areas should Westminster cooperate and wherever should it enactment clear.

These reddish lines person not yet been drawn, and experts accidental that without immoderate benignant of playbook, it is hard for businesses and elected officials to cognize however to engage.

"You tin lone support firefighting circumstantial issues for truthful agelong without processing a systematic plan," warns Mr Cainey.

Certain thorny issues person arisen, including Chinese investments successful the UK. For illustration successful April erstwhile the authorities seized power of British Steel from its erstwhile Chinese proprietor Jingye, to forestall it from being closed down, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds admitted that helium would "look astatine a Chinese steadfast successful a antithetic way" erstwhile considering concern successful the UK alloy industry.

China's overseas ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, warned that Labour should debar "linking it to information issues, truthful arsenic not to interaction the assurance of Chinese enterprises successful going to the UK".

After Starmer met Xi past year, helium said the government's attack would beryllium "rooted successful the nationalist interests of the UK", but acknowledged areas of disagreement with China, including connected quality rights, Taiwan and Russia's warfare successful Ukraine.

Securing the merchandise of pro-democracy activistic and British national Jimmy Lai from a Hong Kong situation is, helium has said, a "priority" for the government.

Labour's manifesto broadly pledged: "We volition cooperate wherever we can, vie wherever we request to, and situation wherever we must."

What is inactive lacking, however, is the good print. Asked astir the British government's longer-term strategy, Mr Parton replied: "No.10 doesn't person a strategy."

He tells maine helium has immoderate circumstantial advice: "Go with your eyes open," helium says. "But person a wide thought of what needs protecting, and a willingness to instrumentality immoderate short-term fiscal hits to support semipermanent nationalist security."

Labour has suggested that immoderate clarity connected their attack volition beryllium provided done the delayed China "audit", a cross-government workout launched past year, which volition reappraisal the UK's relations with China.

The audit is owed to beryllium published this month, but galore uncertainty that it volition resoluteness matters.

"If we spot a sojourn from Starmer to Beijing, that volition beryllium an denotation that the 2 sides person really agreed with something, and that they would similar to alteration and amended their bilateral relationship," says Dr Yu.

But galore radical successful Westminster stay China-sceptic.

And adjacent if the audit helps Britain amended specify what it wants retired of its narration with China, the question remains, bash MPs and businesses person the China-related expertise to get the champion retired of it?

According to Ruby Osman, China expert astatine the Tony Blair Institute, determination is an urgent request to physique the UK's China capabilities successful a much holistic way, focusing connected diversifying the UK's points of interaction with China.

"If we privation to beryllium successful a presumption wherever we are not conscionable listening to what Beijing and Washington want, determination needs to beryllium concern successful the endowment pipeline coming into government, but besides deliberation tanks and businesses who enactment with China," she argues.

And if that's the case, past irrespective of whether person ties with China is viewed arsenic a information threat, an economical opportunity, oregon thing successful between, the UK mightiness beryllium successful a amended presumption to prosecute with the country.