Foreign Secretary and G7 on China, Indo Pacific tour, Chinese police stations
A Beijing to Britain briefing
Hello,
The UK’s Foreign Secretary has just returned from a G7 visit to Japan, via a shortened trip through the Indo-Pacific. As unpacked later in this briefing note, the resulting Foreign Ministers’ Communiqué included long sections on China, the Indo-Pacific and Taiwan. But it’s James Cleverly’s remarks to the travelling press corp that have drawn the most interest in Westminster and WhatsApp groups this week. Speaking to The Guardian, the Foreign Secretary was explicit: Britain should not “pull the shutters down” on China, and although he “get[s] why” a number of his Conservative colleagues are hawkish, “it’s not in their interest or my interest or anyone else’s interest to just pull the shutters down on this relationship, because China will carry on carrying on whether we engage with them or not.” That being said, he “fundamentally disagreed” that the Taiwan Strait was a domestic matter for Beijing.
On Tuesday, Cleverly will deliver a speech setting out the UK’s approach to China. What would you do if you were advising the Government on what should be in this speech? I’ve mulled this over, and I think my pitch would be as follows: make sure to be explicit that the UK agrees with the Five Eyes and G7 positions on Taiwan, the South China Sea and Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet. Reiterate that these are clear, agreed points between these partners. Then, be explicit about why and how you want the UK to engage China, which this Government clearly does. What are the positive cases? What would successful engagement look like? Is it financial (restarting the EFD or JETCO), is it multilateral (working with China on debt restructuring around the world, for example), or is it something else and a mix of all things? Then, be more explicit about what guardrails the UK wants to have in place, in both directions, particularly for businesses, and evidence that you have put in place the security services’ recommendations. Finally, to show that you are thinking about the rest of the world beyond this relationship, and actually committing to your earlier comments about doubling down on Africa, re-emphasise that UK foreign policy is not about forcing “undecided countries” to pick a side, and argue that although the rules-based order has its flaws, it can be tweaked to make the world a fundamentally better place.
On that note, I want to draw readers’ attention to two recent texts I’ve read that I think are worth sharing with British policy folk. First, “In Defense of the Fence Sitters - What the West Gets Wrong About Hedging.” As I touched on last week, Westminster needs to start evidencing why the world outside of Russia, America, China and the EU should care about what the UK has to say; part of this naturally involves understanding where these countries are coming from. This piece is a good place to start. Second, as I’ve noted before, Western policymakers and researchers should always find time to read Singaporean foreign policy output. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s speech this week expresses extreme concern over the US-China relationship and the increase in protectionism, and how it will impact and damage smaller countries. Given Singapore’s unique role and insights into the region, it is essential reading.
Finally - I’m going to be in New Delhi early next month on business. If you fancy a coffee or chai, please get in touch.
— Sam Hogg, Editor
In this week’s Briefing Note, we look at:
G7 antics in Japan and the Foreign Secretary’s Indo-Pacific tour
Parliament and the alleged Chinese overseas police stations
Semiconductor discussions on the BBC