NEW REPORT: The UK and China's security and trade relationship: A strategic void [International Relations and Defence Committee]

A Beijing to Britain report review

Sep 10, 2021

Good morning,

Today, the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee publishes a new report examining the UK’s (lack of) strategy towards China. ‘The UK and China's security and trade relationship: A strategic void’ is the culmination of several months of witness evidence, discussions and hearings. Christmas came early in this household.

Spanning eight chapters, we are confident in saying that this is a landmark report that will be referred to for many years to come. It is critical of the Government, noting “our witnesses frequently remarked on the Government’s lack of a coherent strategy in this area—a shortcoming that has been noted by other parliamentary Committees but has not so far been addressed,” and “the Government’s Integrated Review recognised China as both an important partner and a systemic competitor but gave no indication of how it intended to reconcile the tensions and conflicts that are inherent in such a dual characterisation. A promise to balance concerns around values or security with trade interests does not amount to a strategy, and nothing we have heard from the Government during the course of this inquiry convinces us that they have thought seriously about objectives and priorities.”

This short Brief examines a couple of the major recommendations of the Report. A link can be found here, please make time to read it in full and don’t forget to sign up.

Who’s on the Committee?

The Members of the International Relations and Defence Committee are:

Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Chair)
Lord Alton of Liverpool
Baroness Fall
Lord Anderson of Swansea
Lord Mendelsohn
Baroness Rawlings
Baroness Blackstone
Lord Stirrup
Lord Boateng
Baroness Sugg
Lord Campbell of Pittenweem
Lord Teverson

Who did they speak to?

Over 50 witnesses, many of whom readers will recognise. They included Minister for Asia Nigel Adams, BBC World Service, The British Chamber of Commerce in China, Professor Kerry Brown, Hong Kong Watch, Dr Yu Jie, Charles Parton OBE, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Lord Sassoon, Professor Steve Tsang, and one George Osborne, former Chancellor of the Exchequer. It also had over 30 pieces of written evidence submitted.

What’s the background?

The Committee explains:

The report is published amidst growing tensions between the UK and China. The Committee urges the Government to publish a clear and consistent written strategy setting out its trade and security relationship with China. It regrets the current ambiguity of the Government’s approach to China and concludes that a coherent strategy is essential to show how the Government intends to balance its ambition for increased economic engagement with China with the need to protect the UK’s wider interests and values, including security issues, human rights, and labour protection.

It concludes:

The Foreign Affairs Committee called for the Government to publish a strategy on China by the end of 2020, which it has not done. The Government claims to have set out its approach towards China in various speeches, but this does not offer the clarity required. It seems that the Government is using a policy of deliberate ambiguity to avoid making difficult decisions that uphold the UK’s values but might negatively affect economic relations.

What are the major points and recommendations?

Full of beautiful maps, graphs and information boxes, the Report pulls out a couple of key themes. Please note that the following are a selection of points and recommendations, and not all of them.

The Government needs to provide greater detail on its objectives in the Indo-Pacific and how it plans to achieve them, particularly with regard to China.
Current levels of China expertise within Government and the civil service are insufficient when compared to the ambitious agenda and the tilt to the Indo-Pacific outlined by the Government in the Integrated Review
The Committee calls on the Government to produce a single, coherent China strategy, as recommended by the Foreign Affairs Committee in April 2019, and a plan for how it will execute that strategy.
There is insufficient understanding of whether China intends to take a more aggressive approach to the existing status of Taiwan and, if it does, how it might react to the consequences of those attempts. It is also unknown how China might respond to non-conventional, “grey zone” attacks
The Belt and Road Initiative, and the Digital Silk Road component, are key elements in China’s drive to make the international order more ‘Chinacompliant’. Some argue that the BRI allows China to apply political leverage through debt, though the Committee also heard that China is increasingly recognising that this approach may not be sustainable. The subversion of international institutions and indebted nations’ compliance with China’s wishes should be given greater prominence and consideration.
While there are many questionable elements of the Belt and Road Initiative, and BRI projects will always reflect China’s interests, some will equally benefit the receiving nation. Belt and Road investments may on such occasions be welcomed
Although China does not consider the UK as a high priority country, the UK remains important due to its membership of the UN Security Council. China also considers the UK an important economic partner in particular sectors.
The UK-China relationship may also be improved by a greater degree of understanding of the Chinese culture and languages by the UK. The Committee calls on the Government to provide greater support for Chinese language teaching and cultural exchange with China.
The Committee calls on the Government to explain how it will include considered co-operation with China on climate change as part of its China strategy. This is particularly important given the UK’s leadership role at COP26
The Committee calls on the Government to explain how the UK plans to support its regional partners and allies in both traditional and non-traditional security areas such as training, joint exercises, institution building and capacity building.
The Government should seek to maintain the role and popularity of British higher education among Chinese students. However, the Committee is concerned about potential pressures put on Chinese students by the Chinese authorities. The Government and the higher education sector need to take steps to ensure that Chinese students (in particular graduate students) can maintain freedom of research
The UK should avoid the extreme ‘trade war’ approach undertaken by the Trump administration in the US, which been shown to hurt the US’s interests more than China. The Government should carefully assess whether a more nuanced approach may be more effective when dealing with China.
The Committee calls on the Government to outline its specific areas of focus for WTO reform, and how these will help to support the UK’s economic and strategic objectives with China
The Committee calls on the Government to publish a detailed plan for implementation of the National Security and Investment Act, to provide confidence to overseas investors. An explanation of the reversal of the Huawei decision would also provide greater confidence to overseas investors
More generally, the Government should incorporate an atrocity prevention lens in its overall approach to trade. Current atrocity prevention tools and strategies have fallen short, so the Committee asks that the Government outlines how it intends to strengthen these tools, including the effective use of sanctions and other consequences once an atrocity is determined to have occurred

What’s the reception?

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