Sir, – Martin Wolf’s article (“US-China relations have entered a frightening new era”, Business, Opinion, April 26th) asserts, reasonably, that this relationship will “determine humanity’s fate” in this century.
The UK government sees the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as an “epoch-defining and systemic challenge”. This requires a carefully calibrated and coordinated approach, eschewing the alternatives of an unconditional embrace or unthinking opposition. In his annual speech to the diplomatic corps in London on April 25th, the UK foreign secretary argued that a stable and prosperous China would be good for Britain and the world. And he stressed that no significant global challenge can be solved without China. To give up on China would be to give up on addressing humanity’s biggest problems. But at the same time we must be unflinchingly realistic about China’s authoritarianism and military build-up, and its consequences.
Therefore the foreign secretary set out the requirement for a multifaceted approach.
While being robust and consistent in calling out abuses – in Xinjiang or Hong Kong – we have a national interest in working together where interests converge, such as on climate.
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There are thus three pillars to the UK’s new approach.
Protect: Strengthen our national security protections against actions which pose a threat to our people or prosperity. We will be robust in preventing interference in our political system, safeguarding academic freedom and protecting our economic security.
Align: Deepen cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific and across the world, not least the EU. The foreign secretary reiterated the UK’s longstanding position on Taiwan – that we want to see a peaceful settlement of the differences across the Strait – and stressed the global ramifications of any conflict.
He also highlighted the scale and nature of China’s military build-up, the biggest in peacetime history, and called on China to be transparent about its doctrine and intent.
Engage: directly with China in support of UK interests, bilaterally and multilaterally, to preserve and create open, constructive and stable relations.
I recall a Sinologue colleague telling me 25 years ago that if we spent a fraction of the time thinking about China that we were then spending on the Balkans we would be better prepared for the 21st century. The British approach to today’s China is to seek to assess and address this country and this challenge in its entirety. – Yours, etc,
PAUL JOHNSTON,
British Ambassador
to Ireland,
Dublin 4.