LONDON (Reuters) Nov.29– British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the so-called “golden age” of relations with China was over, adding to Beijing’s systematic challenge to British interests and values. said that
In his first major foreign policy speech, Sunak said the UK’s approach to China needed to evolve, and that the Chinese government would “use all means of state power to deliberately pursue global influence.” We are competing,” he said.
Let’s make it clear that the so-called ‘golden age is over, with the naive idea that trade leads to social and political reform,” Sunak told former Treasury Secretary George Osborne in London’s financial district.
Some of Sunak’s Conservatives criticized Sunak, seeing him as less hawkish of China than his predecessor, Liz Truss. Last year, when he was finance minister, he called for a nuanced strategy toward China to balance human rights concerns while expanding economic ties. But a planned meeting between Sunak and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Bali this month fell through, and last week London banned Chinese surveillance cameras from sensitive government buildings.
“We recognize that China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, and that challenge is becoming more acute as China moves toward stronger authoritarianism.” He said one of his journalists was the Chinese police.
“Of course, we cannot simply ignore the importance of China in world affairs, in issues such as global economic stability and climate change. The United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and many other countries also understand it. .”
Sunak said Britain would not choose “the status quo” under his leadership and would use “strong pragmatism rather than good rhetoric” to confront international competitors.
Referring to Ukraine, the government said it would continue military aid to Kyiv next year and maintain strong support from former prime minister Boris Johnson and the Truss. “Don’t worry, we support Ukraine.” We will maintain or increase military aid over the next year. And we will provide new support for air defense.”
In September, Britain announced that it had provided £2.3 billion ($2.8 billion) of aid this year, making it her second-largest military donor to Ukraine after the United States.
Sunak said the UK must adopt the same long-term approach as its foes and competitors such as Russia and China. “In the face of these challenges, short-termism and wishful thinking are not enough. We cannot rely on Cold War arguments and approaches, or mere sentimentality about the past,” he said.
