The current UK-China relationship is frosty. On June 13, British Foreign Secretary Cameron said that the changes in the UK’s policy towards China are in response to changes in the real world and are also a result of the actions of the CCP. Cameron, who served as UK Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016, once referred to the UK-China relationship as a “Golden Era” and stated that the UK would be the best partner for China in the West. In November 2023, Cameron returned to UK politics as Foreign Secretary, but this did not bring about a turning point in UK-China relations. Why is that?
Cameron mentioned that significant changes have occurred in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and the South China Sea since he stepped down as Prime Minister. The CCP has recently taken more aggressive measures, such as activities in cyberspace, and the UK naturally must protect its own security.
On July 4, the UK will hold a general election to select 650 Members of Parliament and determine which party will govern the country. Hong Kong residents who have moved to the UK under the British National Overseas (BNO) visa will also be able to vote in a UK general election for the first time. Looking at the manifestos of the four main political parties, apart from the Reform Party not mentioning issues related to China and Hong Kong, the policies of the three major parties towards China are increasingly hardline.
The Labour Party promises to review the UK-China relationship and states that they will cooperate on issues where possible, compete in necessary areas, and challenge China when needed, emphasizing acting in the interests of the UK, defending UK sovereignty and democratic values, and continuing to support the Hong Kong community in the UK.
The Conservative Party’s language is more assertive, listing the CCP as part of the “axis of authoritarian states” along with Russia and Iran, and considering China as a “hostile state.” Their policy towards China is based on three principles: “protecting (national security and interests),” “coordinating with allies on policy positions,” and “maintaining contact with China.”
The Liberal Democrats promise to categorize the human rights abuses suffered by the Uighurs in Xinjiang as “genocide,” establish diplomatic, economic, and security cooperation with Taiwan and other democratic entities threatened by the CCP, continue to address policy loopholes in the British National Overseas (BNO) visa scheme, and seek to extend funding to help Hong Kong people integrate into the UK.
Therefore, regardless of the outcome of the UK general election, it is highly likely that UK-China relations will continue to decline.
The UK-China relationship has been reversing since 2020, with three main driving factors. Firstly, the outbreak of the pandemic severely impacted the UK. In April 2020, then UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab stated that the Chinese authorities must answer how the pandemic started and that relations between the UK and China can never return to what they were before. Secondly, after the violent suppression of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement in 2019, China pushed through the Hong Kong national security law and the “23 Articles,” leading to widespread persecution of democracy advocates and undermining the “one country, two systems” principle, which the UK could not tolerate. Lastly, as US-China relations deteriorated in what was dubbed the “new Cold War” in 2020, the Biden administration further escalated tensions, leading to the UK and the US signing the historic “New Atlantic Charter” on June 10, 2021, aiming to set guidelines for the world once again with a “wartime spirit.”
This shift in UK-China relations has been significant. In November 2022, upon entering office, UK’s new Prime Minister Sunak emphasized that the previous “Golden Era” of UK-China relations had come to an end, dismissing the close economic ties of the past decade as “naïve.” The UK government’s 2023 Comprehensive Review redefined China as an “epoch-defining and systemic challenge,” affecting almost every aspect of government policy and daily life for the British people. For the first time, Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait issue were mentioned, with an emphasis on the UK’s consistent stance that the Taiwan issue should be peacefully resolved through dialogue between both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Over the past few years, the chill in UK-China relations has intensified in some aspects, even surpassing the tensions in US-China relations.
Firstly, high-level exchanges between the UK and China have nearly ceased. A planned meeting between Sunak and Xi Jinping during the G20 Summit in October 2022 would have been the first encounter between the leaders of the two countries in nearly five years. However, the meeting was canceled last minute due to “scheduling conflicts.” One reason cited was Sunak’s response to a question about whether the UK should provide weapons to Taiwan, highlighting the UK’s clear policy not to unilaterally alter the status quo and to support Taiwan against Chinese aggression. In August 2023, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited China amidst internal scrutiny in the UK political sphere, becoming the first senior UK Cabinet minister to visit Beijing in five years, but only meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng.
Secondly, the UK’s intelligence agencies, including MI5, MI6, and GCHQ, view China as a top priority. Richard Moore, who assumed office as the head of MI6 in 2020, emphasized the importance of countering Chinese influence and labeled China as the agency’s primary focus over counterterrorism. In July 2023, he mentioned that China poses a significant threat and actively exploits data vulnerabilities to undermine global cybersecurity. Anne Keast-Butler, head of GCHQ, highlighted China’s irresponsible actions in cyberspace compromising the cybersecurity of nations, condemning Chinese cyber threats to UK security, including attacks on critical institutions like the UK Electoral Commission. Ken McCallum, head of MI5, revealed in October 2023 that Chinese espionage attempts through online channels with over 20,000 UK individuals had reached unprecedented levels, posing an unparalleled threat.
Thirdly, bilateral mechanisms such as the annual UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue and the UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission, which were disrupted for several years due to the pandemic, have yet to resume. The UK’s decisions to exclude Huawei from the UK’s 5G network in 2021, block China General Nuclear Group from investing in the Sizewell C nuclear project in 2022, and prohibit the installation of Chinese-manufactured surveillance cameras in sensitive government buildings in November 2022 have further strained relations. Additionally, concerns over network security led to the removal of components provided by a Chinese state-owned enterprise from the UK’s national power grid in April 2023. Even the Royal Navy abandoned the tradition of employing Chinese workers as laundry staff on UK warships due to espionage concerns. In April 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden announced stricter oversight of UK higher education institutions, particularly in high-tech research areas, to protect sensitive technologies and reduce dependence on foreign funds, particularly from countries like China that disregard the rules-based international order.
As UK-China relations have become increasingly tense, the CCP tends to blame the UK for the situation. In July 2020, then Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming attributed the difficulties in UK-China relations solely to the UK. In March 2021, following the UK’s symbolic sanctions on China over the human rights situation in Xinjiang, the CCP retaliated by sanctioning nine UK individuals, including five UK Members of Parliament, and four entities. The CCP’s consistently aggressive stance has made it challenging to break the gridlock in UK-China relations.
A symbolic event illustrating this was on May 8, during Xi Jinping’s first European trip in five years, when UK Prime Minister Sunak and Foreign Secretary Cameron met with five UK Members of Parliament sanctioned by the CCP to discuss the situation, emphasizing that the CCP’s sanctions were unacceptable. The UK government meets annually with British parliamentarians who have been sanctioned by the CCP.
In conclusion, as long as the CCP continues its wolf warrior diplomacy, it will be difficult to salvage UK-China relations. Given the current political climate in China, abandoning this aggressive stance is nearly impossible. Therefore, in the foreseeable future, UK-China relations will continue to navigate stormy waters.