Explainer: Britain opens up diplomatic dialogue with China
It’s the first time in five years a UK Foreign Secretary will visit China, as James Cleverly lands in Beijing today.
And so begins the great thaw, as Rishi Sunak’s government signals a willingness to engage with the Chinese Communist party, four years after Hong Kong was put at the mercy of extreme national security laws.
When Sunak was first up for the Conservative leadership in summer 2022, there were many so-called China hawks within the party wary of the former Chancellor’s approach to Beijing. In stark comparison to Liz Truss, he has always insisted it is better to engage with President Xi Jinping rather than ice them out.
Many of these MPs, including Iain Duncan Smith and Tom Tugendhat, who is now the security minister, were sanctioned by Beijing, meaning they face arrest if they ever enter Chinese territories.
But Cleverly vowed to use the opportunity to press the Chinese foreign secretary Wang Li on key issues such as Hong Kong and Ukraine. He stressed the importance of working with China on climate change.
He was keen to note the “strong disagreements” between the two states.
The softening response to China comes years after it was thrown under the microscope when Huawei was prevented access from key parts of our 5G rollout.
Over the last few years of UK politics, it has been a concern which has come up again and again, most recently with the use of TikTok, the Bytedance owned app, on the Parliamentary Estate over security concerns. The tensions with China has also spanned concerns over Sizewell C, the nuclear power station previously part owned by the Chinese government, and the decision to force state-backed Nexperia to sell off its controlling stake in Newport Wafer Fab, the semiconductor giant.
Earlier in the summer, a damning report by the the Intelligence and Security Committee accused the government of taking too long to act against Chinese interference.
But Cleverly’s visit could even signal the potential for a bilateral meeting between Sunak and the Chinese president.