China report, Biden in Town, NATO
A Beijing to Britain briefing
Hello,
The balance between security and prosperity is at the heart of many tensions concerning how the UK manages its bilateral relationship with China. At a simple level, the argument is that a stronger economy means you are more secure - less willing to accept dodgy investments or sacrifice your values for economic gain. And correctly balancing security and prosperity creates options, such as the ability to conduct well-resourced strategic foreign policy. In a prescient CSIS essay in 2020, Australian official Gordon de Brouwer articulated what the pair look like in equilibrium: “Security underpins prosperity, prosperity creates power and pays for security, and a well-functioning society reduces economic and security risks.”
One of the many conclusions drawn by Parliament’s secretive Intelligence and Security Committee in a report published on Thursday is that successive British Governments have got that balance wrong. “It is clear that China has taken advantage of the policy of successive British Governments to boost economic ties between the UK and China, which has enabled it to advance its commercial, science and technology and industrial goals in order to gain a strategic advantage…Chinese money was readily accepted by HMG with few questions asked,” it states in a 202-page document, concluding a four-year-long inquiry. Another key theme - and one familiar to Beijing to Britain readers - is that there is a fundamental lack of resources and expertise across Whitehall to deal with the multitude of threats the Committee outlines.
One of the tools mentioned in the report to help build the Government’s resistance, the long-awaited National Security Bill, received Royal Assent this week. Aimed at updating the British Government’s interference and spy legislation among other things, it also includes a Foreign Influence Registration Scheme. Elsewhere on the business front, the Government published a review of how the National Security and Investment Act has performed over the last year - what sectors did they block deals in, where did the money originate from, and similar data. Unsurprisingly, Chinese buyers were associated with over 40% of all reviewed assessments.
Finally, although Parliament goes on recess for the rest of the summer next week, rest assured: Beijing to Britain has some delights heading your way.
— Sam Hogg, Editor
In this week’s Briefing Note, we look at:
Key points from ISC
NATO’s China readout
Hong Kong spies and Parliamentary debate
The first full report of the NSIA