British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited Beijing on August 30-31, 2023 in an attempt to re-stabilize relations with China. This was the first visit of a British senior diplomat to China in five years. However, Cleverly’s messages on human rights during this visit caused serious discomfort in Beijing. Following his bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Cleverly, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized “dialogue and cooperation” and said that “his country has always attached importance to Britain’s great power status and unique role” [1]
Foreign Secretary Cleverly’s visit to Beijing can be interpreted as Britain’s attempt to open a new chapter in its relations with China. In the last two years, Britain’s relations with China have experienced major ups and downs. It may be recalled that before taking office, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had spoken of maintaining the “Golden Age” in relations with China and signaled that he would pursue a more moderate, prudent and balanced policy in bilateral relations. Prime Minister Rishi has shown that he is in favor of maintaining the ever-growing economic ties with China.[2] . Whereas the Truss Government characterized China as a “threat”, the new Prime Minister Rishi first categorized China as a “systemic challenge” and then had to say that it was a “threat. [3] ” . Shortly thereafter, he declared that the “Golden Age” was over. [4]
The idea of fighting against China was in fact a collective decision of Britain and the United States of America (USA) and Rishi could not be expected to go against this policy. Although Prime Minister Rishi was personally optimistic towards China, once in office, the interests of the British state came to the fore. Generally speaking, Rishi’s government took up the fight against China in line with the national interests of the British state.
Despite this idea of confrontation, Prime Minister Rishi argued that China’s role in global affairs should be recognized, Cold War rhetoric should be avoided and engagement (dialogue) with Beijing should always be maintained.[5] On the other hand, Prime Minister Rishi, under pressure from the conservative wing of the party and the US, tried to adopt a more combative stance towards China.
In its 87-page report, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee stated that the UK “should publish a coordinated and holistic government approach” to China. [6] In addition, China was characterized as “a threat to the UK’s interests” in the document. The report also draws attention to Taiwan’s right to self-determination and calls for the UK to develop defense-oriented cooperation with allies.
Despite this defense-oriented strategy, Britain also needs diplomacy. This is because China plays a major role in maintaining the global balance of power. Cleverly’s visit to Beijing can be interpreted as an indication that the UK recognizes this importance. Britain realizes that defensive policies alone will be insufficient to stop China’s rise in global politics. Britain has realized that dialogue with China would be the best solution.
As a brief reminder, while many European leaders and even US President Joe Biden had the opportunity to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Bali in November 2023, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak failed to meet with Xi despite requesting an appointment with him. The Beijing government explained that Xi could not meet Rishi Sunak due to his tight schedule. [7] Nevertheless, Xi met with the leaders of Mexico, Argentina, Senegal, Senegal, the Netherlands, South Africa and Indonesia, in addition to the leaders of major countries at this summit. At the time, Rishi’s government began to characterize China as a threat and called for support for Taiwan, which led Beijing to close diplomatic avenues.
It is estimated that Cleverly’s visit to Beijing compensated for this deterioration in UK-China relations to some extent. The fact that Cleverly continued to call for human rights in Beijing despite Beijing’s good intentions is seen as a continuation of the mistrust in bilateral relations. More importantly, the UK is trying to show that it is in fact a great power by going to China and criticizing itself in its host country. Wang Yi, while acknowledging this status, still calls for continued dialogue.
Nevertheless, Cleverly’s visit could be the beginning of mutual understanding and a gradual return to normalcy in China-UK relations. Nevertheless, the UK’s China strategy is still unclear. London has failed to develop a holistic government program and has not fully coordinated with Washington on how to deal with Beijing.
The overall picture is that the Rishi government’s China policy was initially hardened and then softened. Prime Minister Rishi has sometimes adopted a hard line under US pressure and at other times sought dialogue. It appears that the US has better relations with China than the UK. While Washington has managed to maintain a dialog with Beijing, London is undecided on what strategy to pursue. China, on the other hand, has a more stable stance in British politics. China is always open to cooperation and dialogue as long as the UK stays away from the Cold War mentality.
[1] “Britain’s Top Diplomat Cleverly Visits China to Stabilise Frayed Ties”, Aljazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/30/britains-top-diplomat-cleverly-visits-china-to-stabilise-badly-frayed-ties, (Erişim Tarihi: 07.09.2023).
[2] “Where Does Each Potential Prime Minister Stand on China?”, Beijing Britain, https://beijingtobritain.substack.com/p/where-does-each-potential-prime-minister, (Erişim Tarihi: 07.09.2023).
[3] “UK PM hopeful Sunak: China ‘number one threat’ to Britain, world”, Aljazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/25/uk-pm-hopeful-sunak-china-number-one-threat-to-britain-world, (Erişim Tarihi: 07.09.2023).
[4] “Sunak Ends ‘Golden Era’ With China”, Euroactiv, https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/sunak-ends-golden-era-with-china/, (Erişim Tarihi: 07.09.2023).
[5] Aynı yer.
[6] “Britain’s Top Diplomat Cleverly Visits China to Stabilise Frayed Ties”, a.g.e., (Erişim Tarihi: 07.09.2023).
[7] “China’s President Xi Jinping ‘Snubbed’ Meeting with Rishi Sunak at G20 Summit ‘Over Britain’s Support for Taiwan”, Daily Mail, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11442161/Chinas-president-Xi-Jinping-snubs-meeting-Rishi-Sunak-G20-summit.html, (Erişim Tarihi: 07.09.2023).
