Rishi Sunak warns against ‘simplistic Cold War rhetoric’ on China at Lord Mayor’s Banquet
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Rishi Sunak declared that the UK’s "golden era" of ties with China was over as he described Beijing’s move “towards even greater authoritarianism” as a "systemic challenge to our values and interests”.
The prime minister, however, stopped short of calling China a threat in his first major foreign policy speech, drawing backlash from Labour and Conservative MPs for “flip-flopping” on the rhetoric against the country.
Mr Sunak warned against “simplistic Cold War rhetoric” on China, and insisted he would continue to employ “diplomacy and engagement” in his dealings with the Communist-run state.
In the annual foreign policy address to the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London, he promised an “evolutionary leap” in the UK’s approach to repressive regimes around the world, which he said would be characterised by “robust pragmatism”.
“We recognise China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism,” Mr Sunak said.
But added: “We cannot simply ignore China’s significance in world affairs, to global economic stability or issues like climate change.
‘Golden era’ of ties with China over, says Sunak
Prime minister Rishi Sunak said that UK’s ‘golden era’ of ties with China was over in this major speech on foreign policy, describing China’s growing authoritarianism as a “systemic challenge to our values and interests”.
In his speech to the annual Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London, Mr Sunak said the UK would stand up to global competitors like China — “not with grand rhetoric but with robust pragmatism” and by boosting its ties with like-minded global allies including the US, Canada, Australia and Japan.
We recognise China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism.
Rishi Sunak
Prime minister, Rishi Sunak, attends the Lord Mayor’s Banquet at The Guildhall on 28 November 2022 in London
(Getty Images)
Referring to Beijing’s handling of widespread protests across China against the country’s strict “zero Covid” strategy, Mr Sunak said that “instead of listening to their people’s protests, the Chinese government has chosen to crack down further, including by assaulting a BBC journalist.”
Welcome to The Independent’s UK politics blog for Tuesday, 29 November 2022, where we provide the latest on everything buzzing in Westminster.
