Source: South China Morning Post    Published: 2024-10-17

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is visiting China this week on a trip that is expected to focus on economic ties amid a push by the new Labour government to reset relations.

However, analysts say it is not clear how far Lammy will be able to balance this focus on economic relations with concerns over human rights and security, which have been an ongoing source of tension as relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply.

Over the past decade or so, the number of high-level meetings has dwindled and the two countries have clashed over issues such as Hong Kong, the South China Sea and Xinjiang. Meanwhile Chinese investment in Europe in general is falling, with more money going to countries such as Hungary that take a favourable stance towards Beijing.

In 2021, the British parliament passed a motion that declared China was committing genocide against the Uygur people, and later that year the British government banned Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies from the country’s 5G infrastructure development over security fears.

Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University, said Britain’s domestic financial situation was fuelling efforts to re-engage.

“The main priority for Lammy will be to revive the China-UK economic and financial dialogue and to attract increased Chinese investment into his country,” Wang said, adding that cooperation on the green economy would be another priority.

The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed that Lammy would be visiting China on Friday and Saturday. Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the ministry, said: “China is willing to work with the UK to uphold the partnership … and push for the stable and far-reaching development of the China-UK relationship.”

Last month vice-premier He Lifeng held a phone call with Britain’s finance minister Rachel Reeves, who is considering a trip to China soon, according to Reuters.

He said China was willing to work with the UK in areas such as finance, the green economy, biomedicine and artificial intelligence, and indicated a willingness to restart the economic and financial dialogue – which Beijing sees as a crucial platform for discussions but last met in June 2019.

Meanwhile, British media reports have said that former Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, who had been invited to visit the country this month by a parliamentary group, had been asked to postpone the trip because the government wanted to avoid upsetting Beijing ahead of Lammy’s visit.

“The decision is a sincere gesture shown by the Labour government and clearly shows the UK’s strong desire to improve its relationship with Beijing,” Wang said.

Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. Britain, in common with most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but opposes any attempt to take the island by force.

Wang said Beijing may be willing to accept the olive branch extended by the UK, as the newly elected Labour government possessed a stronger legitimacy. He added that Beijing also wanted to mend ties with European countries and saw this as “an opportune moment to re-engage the UK”.

Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa, an EU-Asia strategist based in Hong Kong, said Lammy was likely to discuss issues such as trade, investment opportunities and green investment.

But he warned: “Significant security concerns, technological sovereignty and human rights issues persist as major sticking points.

“Lammy likely aims to strengthen economic ties while addressing these areas of concern. This includes mitigating supply chain dependencies, countering Chinese political influence in the UK and exploring opportunities for cooperation on global issues.”

David Lammy should aim to focus on economic interests and avoid political issues, for the trip to be a diplomatic success for the new UK Labour Government, according to James Downes, assistant professor in comparative politics and international relations at the Hong Kong Metropolitan University.

“It makes sense for the new foreign secretary to visit … British foreign secretaries have visited China too infrequently for many years now,” said Tim Summers, an assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Centre for China Studies.

Lammy’s predecessor, James Cleverly, made a brief visit to Beijing last August, the first to China by a British foreign secretary in five years. The last meeting between the countries’ leaders took place in 2018, when prime minister Theresa May visited China.

Summers said the new British government would not deviate too much from the previous government’s China policy.

“It will try to balance areas of cooperation with perceptions that China might pose a security challenge and pressure from the United States,” Summers said, adding there may be a greater focus on economic engagement, particularly concerning Hong Kong.

Labour’s election manifesto said it would carry out an “audit” to reassess its China policy during its first 100 days in office, although there has been no public comment on the issue during this period.

“Labour’s commitment to a comprehensive audit of the UK-China relationship reflects a desire to evaluate areas of cooperation and competition. This approach indicates worries about economic security and geopolitical tensions while avoiding a complete break,” Trillo-Figueroa said.

Before taking office, Lammy said British foreign and security policy should be based on “progressive realism” and called for a balanced approach to China that “challenges, competes against and cooperates with” the country as necessary.

In an article for Foreign Affairs, he wrote this approach would “recognise China’s importance to the British economy … accepting that no grouping of states can address the global threats of the climate crisis, pandemics and artificial intelligence unless it cooperates with Beijing”.

Downes said Lammy’s approach appeared to be a nuanced one, aiming to balance values such as human rights and liberal democracy with the practicalities of international relations and economics – but he warned that security concerns, global competition and the countries’ different values were an ongoing challenge.

“The Labour Party’s current policy stance may signal a shift towards a more scrutinising and cautious stance considering various geopolitical issues and the increasing economic power of China at the global level,” he said.

Wang from Renmin University said Beijing should not “harbour too many illusions” about future relations.

“In areas of the security alliance, intelligence-sharing, and access to advanced technology, the UK will no doubt keep aligning with the US. But for general economic and trade relations, there is still significant potential for cooperation,” Wang said.

“Labour’s policy of keeping open dialogue while asserting firm stances on principles and security reflects a desire to balance cooperation with caution. However, it remains uncertain whether that balance is genuinely feasible,” Trillo-Figueroa said.