UK: With public opinion hardening towards Beijing and Britain's presence in the Indo-Pacific region, front-runner Liz Truss has indicated that she is taking a more aggressive stance towards China. Will adopt Truss's aides, who are considered one of the most aggressive members of Boris Johnson's cabinet, told The Times that he would reopen a unified review of defense and diplomatic strategy and consider China a "threat" to national security. Same status as Russia. March 2021 review classified China as a "systemic competitor" and has since dismissed the suggestion as "irresponsible".
According to Jonathan Sullivan, director of China programs at the University of Nottingham's Asia Research Institute, "Under normal circumstances, I would say that the new prime minister would take a more realistic and balanced approach to foreign affairs once in office, but the UK's reputation for pragmatics Diplomacy has taken a beating in recent years."
Labeling an important trading partner as a threat would be a noteworthy development, but the fact that it is not entirely impossible highlights the skepticism surrounding the truce and the tense atmosphere developing in UK-China relations.
According to the most recent polls, the truce has a major edge over Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer who resigned in July. The ruling Conservative Party is expected to announce the winner of its leadership contest on Monday. Sunak's departure put pressure on Johnson, who later announced his resignation in the wake of several painful scandals.
The most recent change in prime minister comes less than ten years after President Xi Jinping's state visit to Britain in 2015 and one of Sunak's predecessors, George Osborne, marked a "golden" era of trade and cooperation between the two countries. declared.
Since then, tensions have escalated between Beijing and London amid growing concerns about the incorporation of Chinese technology into critical infrastructure, alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong's adoption of national security legislation.
According to Rana Mitter, a professor at Oxford University and authority on the history and politics of contemporary China, calling China a "threat" could mean that "a very clear line is being drawn under the so-called Golden Age."
Policies discussed a few years ago, such as the City of London's involvement in promoting the renminbi trade, may no longer be on the table in that context, Miter said. We have not received any concrete policy proposal till date; Rather, there is more change in attitude or mode of action.
Truss, while acting as foreign secretary, has often stressed the need for the West to act as a check on Beijing's ambitions. In an April speech at the Mansion House, Truss claimed, "Describing China's rise as inevitable, we are doing China's work for it."
His climbing isn't mandatory, really. If they don't follow the rules, they won't be able to move forward. The truce has criticized Beijing over Hong Kong's national security law this summer. In August, he called on China's ambassador to discuss what the British government described as Beijing's "aggressive and widespread escalation" against Taiwan in the wake of Nancy Pelosi's historic visit.
After a much-anticipated UN report found that China's actions in the region, including the detention and persecution of Uighurs and members of other ethnic Muslim groups, "may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity," Truss said in a statement. Once again criticized Beijing for what it called "horrific human rights violations in Xinjiang".
Meanwhile, Britain has recently stepped up efforts to strengthen its security and development ties with Southeast Asia as a hedge against China's expansion into the Indo-Pacific. Sam Goodman, policy director for advocacy organization Hong Kong Watch, believes Johnson's departure could lead to a "coordinated and more pragmatic" approach to Britain's China policy.
He continued, "With his expulsion and Liz Truss likely to succeed, we will probably see a tougher UK-China policy that puts human rights and values above heightened economic and trade relations.
This is in line with the British government's pledge to broaden the British National (Overseas) visa program this year, as well as possibly taking into account sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials for national security legislation, as noted by British lawmakers. Suggested by a bipartisan group. According to Goodman this year. However, Mitter argued that it was unlikely that the Truss-led administration would attempt to act independently on the sanctions.
He said the desire to unite with other liberal allies would serve as a strong motivator when making elections.
However, any significant change in Britain's foreign policy may be muted by unresolved domestic problems. An impending livelihood crisis could lower more than three million regular Britons into poverty, according to a recent report by the think tank Resolution Foundation.
Inflation in Britain has reached double digits as a result of rising energy prices due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and next year's inflation rate could reach 22%, according to Goldman Sachs economists.
According to Sullivan of the University of Nottingham, "the truce makes a lot of things possible. Its own stance on China has become a lot more extreme in the past few years, and the Tory party is eager to make all kinds of strong statements about China." "
She will also experience a generational crisis related to the cost of living, the collapse of public services, including a National Health Service that is nearing the end of its useful life, strikes and poverty, he said.
“This should keep him busy and make hostile relations with China a vexing headache. China, however, is the most convenient bogeyman for every Western leader under pressure, so who knows?
Liz Truss, the next UK Prime Minister, faces daunting challenges
UK's Truss has pledged to redirect $15 billion from the NHS to social care
UK PM race: Cost of living crisis dominates Truss and Sunak's race for PM