It has been clear for many years that China’s status as a second global superpower poses challenges to the world’s democracies. Donald Trump’s marauding behaviour as president of the first-placed superpower makes those challenges more acute. In the past, the UK’s relationship with Beijing has been anchored, and sometimes dictated, by the alliance with Washington. Mr Trump’s contempt for former allies, expressed as sabotage of Nato and a scattergun imposition of tariffs, scrambles the old strategic calculus. This is an ominous backdrop for Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing. The…
Tag: Foreign policy
Starmer thaws China relations: what’s at stake? – The Latest
Keir Starmer has landed in China to meet Xi Jinping, in the first trip to the country by a British prime minister in eight years. But Starmer is facing myriad issues, including pressure to try to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, the jailed former media tycoon and one of Hong Kong’s most significant pro-democracy voices, as well as raising other human rights concerns. On top of that he has the difficult task of trying to boost trade with China without triggering the fury of Donald Trump. Nosheen Iqbal speaks…
From the Burnham row to the China visit, avoiding hard choices is the Starmer doctrine | Rafael Behr
There comes a point in a prime minister’s career when foreign travel offers respite from domestic trouble. Even when relations with the host country are tricky, as Britain’s are with China, the dignifying protocols of statecraft make a beleaguered politician feel valued. Next comes the phase where missions overseas feel dangerous because plotters can organise more openly against absent leaders. Keir Starmer is in transit between those two zones of decline. His position is not yet imperilled by the row over Andy Burnham’s thwarted ambition to run in the Gorton…
Keir Starmer walks tightrope over myriad issues in quest to bolster China ties
Vow to bring ‘stability and clarity’ to the UK’s approach to Beijing on first visit by a British prime minister in eight years will be sorely tested Keir Starmer has travelled to China with a vow to bring “stability and clarity” to the UK’s approach to Beijing after years of what he described as “inconsistency” under the Tories, but a series of issues may get in the way of his efforts to improve relations with the economic powerhouse. Continue reading… The Guardian
Keir Starmer to visit China with British business leaders next week, say reports
Keir Starmer will reportedly visit China next week after controversial plans for Beijing to build a vast embassy in London were approved by his government. The UK prime minster will lead a delegation of blue-chip British companies, according to Reuters. The same firms, which include BP, HSBC, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Jaguar Land Rover and Rolls-Royce were also said to be among those who will join a revamped “UK-China CEO council”. There was no comment from Downing Street early on Wednesday. However, Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser, went to Beijing…
Minister tells MPs that China mega-embassy will have ‘clear security advantages’ – UK politics live
From 52m ago Minister tells MPs MI5 and GCHQ think having all Chinese diplomats on one site will have ‘clear security advantages’ In the Commons Dan Jarvis, the security minister, is taking questions from MPs about the decision to approve the Chinese “super-embassy”. He quoted from the letter written by Sir Ken McCallum, the MI5 director general, and Anne Keast-Butler, the GCHQ director, about this project, and put particular emphasis on this passage. It is worth reiterating the new embassy will replace seven different diplomatically-accredited sites across London which China…
UK government approves Chinese ‘mega embassy’ in London
The UK government has approved the construction of a vast new Chinese embassy complex in east London, despite concerns about security and its impact on political exiles in the capital. The decision by the communities secretary, Steve Reed, brings to an end, for now at least, the saga that has been running since 2018 over the site at Royal Mint Court near Tower Bridge. However, residents of Royal Mint Court plan to mount a legal challenge to the decision within weeks, amid concerns they could be forced out of their…
Royal Mint Court residents plan legal challenge if Chinese ‘mega embassy’ in London approved
Residents of Royal Mint Court plan to mount a legal challenge within weeks if Steve Reed, the local government secretary, approves China’s plans to build a vast new embassy at the site by the Tower of London on Tuesday. Mark Nygate, the treasurer of the local Royal Mint Court Residents’ Association, said people living near the proposed development had concerns about “government interference in what is supposed to be an independent process”. The group has raised nearly £37,000 out of the £145,000 required to instruct lawyers to seek a judicial…
Video dispatch: is China about to get a new mega-embassy in London? – video
A decision on China’s controversial mega-embassy in London is imminent, with Chinese officials and British diplomats in Beijing anxiously awaiting the outcome of a planning application that could soon be approved. MPs from across the political spectrum have condemned the proposal, but UK security services say they can contain the espionage risks posed by the expanded site, which sits close to sensitive data cables linking to the City of London The Guardian
China expected to get London embassy go-ahead this week after years of wrangling
A decision on China’s proposed mega embassy in London is expected on Monday or Tuesday, with Chinese officials and British diplomats in Beijing holding their breath in anticipation of the planning application finally being approved. The saga, which has been running since 2018, is widely expected to end with the British government giving the green light for construction. If it does, one group likely to be grateful is those who work in the British embassy’s dilapidated building in Beijing. The UK’s plans to redevelop its outpost in China’s capital have…