British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has expressed his desire to Xi Jinping to work towards closer economic ties between the UK and China.
On August 23, there was an interesting telephone conversation between Keir Starmer and Xi Jinping, respectively British Prime Minister and Chinese President. Starmer expressed to his interlocutor his desire to commit to pursuing closer economic ties between the UK and China, despite the economic and political differences between the two countries.
Xi’s response was emblematic: he explained to the new UK leader that he hoped that London “considers China in an objective and rational way”. At the same time, Starmer, his own aides revealed, has extended his hand to Xi in an attempt to (re)create a long-term and “adult” relationship with China despite the various existing challenges. Downing Street also explained that the two leaders discussed various areas of cooperation including trade, economics, and education, and agreed that, as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, they should work closely together on global security and climate change.
As mentioned, there is no shortage of friction. Britain, the Financial Times explained, is for example alarmed by China’s restriction of civil liberties in Hong Kong, and concerned by Beijing’s decision to remain neutral on the conflict in Ukraine and to maintain close ties with Russia. Nonetheless, China remains an important trade partner for the United Kingdom, so much so that a Downing Street aide revealed that Starmer would like to deal with the Asian giant in a pragmatic manner.
London calling, Beijing answers
Relations between China and the United Kingdom have cooled considerably since former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne called for a Golden Era in Sino-British relations a decade ago.
Today, the international context is different, marked by multiple tensions and rupture dossiers, but Beijing remains intent on courting European countries, as well as strengthening relations with USA allies. The reason? Simple: to counter Washington’s efforts to contain it. As if that were not enough, Beijing is also concerned about the Aukus agreement, according to which the UK and the United States have signed an agreement with Australia in reference to the construction of nuclear submarines.
In general, the East-Asia giant sees London as an important potential interlocutor with the US, as well as a partner in peace efforts in Ukraine and Gaza. For the magazine Foreign Policy “Keir Starmer should reconsider British policy on China”.
At the top of the list of the new UK government is a more balanced and coherent strategy to be implemented to replace the confusion that had characterized the approach used by London to deal with Beijing in recent years. After the season of “commercial opportunism” of David Cameron, the “ideological belligerence” of the leadership of Liz Truss took the stage, followed by the disinterest of Rishi Sunak. Starmer now intends to put UK-China diplomatic relations back on a more regular footing.
The return of the Golden Era?
Improving ties with Beijing is something doable. Relations between China and United States have improved in the last year (even if they remain very fragile), as have those with Australia. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took office talking about the need to "stabilize" relations with Beijing, and they have. Canberra has since had more regular contact with Beijing, and last year Albanese became the first Australian leader to visit China since 2016. Starmer wants the UK to do the same.
Of course, as FP adds, Sino-British relations have been shaken by moments of tension recently. In April, British authorities accused two locals of spying for China, while in May a suspected Chinese cyber attack on the UK Ministry of Defence was revealed.
Economics remains relevant, however. Bilateral trade between the UK and China has grown by 20% a year for the past five years, while mutual investment has more than doubled. In 2023, bilateral trade reached £107.5bn in the year to March 2023. Well, Starmer would like to increase the result by dreaming of a new Golden Era.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2024-09-06 07:29:00. Original title: L’UK vuole rafforzare i rapporti con la Cina: torna la “Golden Era” tra Londra e Pechino?
