From the golden era to the dark ages: where does the British China relationship go from here?

The British Government’s stance on China is riddled with contradictions and a historical lack of understanding.

A recently published report from the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) characterises the threat from China as less James Bond and more Jeff Bezos. It is the overt, by-the-book economic ties that underpin our relationship with the worlds second largest economy, that are now seen as the primary threat.

The report however, fails to offer any real suggestions as to how we can successfully ‘de-risk’ this economic relationship without ‘de-coupling’ completely. It also inadvertently exhibits the lack of expertise among the British Government on China’s politics and international ambitions. This seemingly leaves the UK with few viable options to counteract such a large and ambiguous Chinese threat, besides hiding behind the U.S. and hoping for the best.

The ISC report does offer sound criticism of the short-termism that has coloured British engagement with China in recent years. It brings to light valid concerns about the organizational security of British intelligence services and the ever-growing leverage that China is increasingly wielding over countries outside of its immediate geographical sphere of influence.

However, the document’s description of China’s specific malicious intentions towards the UK lacks precision, blurring the line between de-risking and de-coupling. In doing so it seemingly mirrors the G7’s indecisive stance following their March meeting in Hiroshima, where they were unable to commit to unilateral decisions on China because of the huge economic reliance of certain western European nations on Chinese trade.

The same ambivalence permeates this report, and is best incapsulated in its list of China’s malicious intentions vis-à-vis the UK, which describe China’s aims: ‘to encourage the UK to endorse China as a reliable partner (and thereby boost its reputation on the global stage); and 2: to ensure China can benefit economically from the UK (in particular by seeking UK endorsement of Chinese national champions and through the purchase of UK technology companies).”

This frames the Chinese threat within the typical economic and diplomatic relationship dynamics between a major and middle power, and fails to distinctly delineate the unique challenges China poses to the UK. It shows us that our fear of China is not really about national specific security concerns, or human rights. Our fear really, is that China is now big enough to pose a threat to U.S. hegemony and therefore any sector, industry, or business where it dominates, is deemed as a threat to the west.

However, the report falls short in providing concrete solutions to address the threats it outlines. This is partly down to its predictably crude description of Chinese domestic politics and their international ambitions. It begins with the most basic summary of China’s authoritarian political system, and throughout leans heavily on academic experts to explain the most fundamental tenants of Chinese history and politics.

This lack of understanding exposes an age-old blind spot within UK decision-making circles. Relying on China experts from British universities underscores the stark contrast with the comprehensive expertise dedicated to understanding other global powers. This deficiency leaves the UK ill-equipped to pre-empt, engage with, and make the most of Chinese international strategies and economic decisions.

The slightly panicked tone is arguably the most important aspect of this report. If anything it should serve as a clarion call for the UK Government to prioritise China rather than creating more distance. This doesn’t have to mean we become closer diplomatically, but ignorance is what got us here, and information should be the solution. We need to dedicate more resource to help foster a better understanding of China in government, but also among the general public. To avoid a future China strategy that merely clings to the coat-tails of the United States, it’s imperative the UK transcends ambivalence and fear. A holistic focus on Chinese history, politics and culture will help us better predict and pre-empt their interest in the UK. It is the pathway to genuinely mitigating the risks within our relationship with a nation rapidly re-shaping the world.