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After the Foreign Secretary called for a “constructive” relationship with Beijing despite growing concerns over recent military activity near Taiwan, the Tory backventures said the government would “respect” China. criticized for being weak.
James Cleverley tonight issued a warning to China-skeptic lawmakers, saying Britain must engage with Chinese President Xi Jinping rather than isolate Beijing in a “new Cold War.”
He called on China to come clean about its “greatest peacetime military buildup” but insisted Britain must continue to engage with China.
In his long-awaited speech at the Mansion House in the City of London, Cleverley said, “It seems clear and easy to me to declare a new Cold War and say that our goal is to isolate China. , which is probably satisfactory.
“Instead, this government will promote UK interests directly with China,” he added, adding that the UK would seek a “constructive and stable relationship” with Britain to reflect its “global importance.” announced that it aims to promote
But the move has angered Tory supporters who say the UK’s increasingly “weak” stance on China will only “please” President Xi Jinping.
Former Conservative Party leader Ian Duncan-Smith said Mr Cleverley’s insistence that China was not a national security threat but a “golden challenge” put Britain’s foreign policy far behind other countries. said that they are taking
“Our position on China is currently weaker than the US, our Five Eyes colleagues and even the EU,” he said. I.
“Soft is an understatement. This is a threat-averse speech surrender flag written by Minister Jesus.
Duncan-Smith also said his mansion-house speech was a platform traditionally used by foreign ministers to stall on foreign policy issues, calling Beijing’s “militarization of the South China Sea.” Nonetheless, he argued it showed Britain’s position on China had weakened over the past year. .
He pointed out that Rishi Sunak’s own election campaign posters last summer declared China the UK’s “greatest threat” and that the prime minister promised to “betray” the country during his tenure.
“Even Rishi Snack called China a systemic threat last summer,” said Duncan Smith. I. “What has changed?”
Concerns have risen after China stepped up military exercises in the Taiwan Strait earlier this month, apparently simulating an invasion of Taiwan, an autonomous island with a democratically elected government.
Dozens of fighter planes and at least 11 ships took part in a mock “blockade” of the island earlier this month in “simulated attack waves” aimed at strategic targets.
Beijing said the exercises were in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s recent visit to the United States and warned of “dangerous” consequences for any country that intervened.
China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang said last week that “those who play with fire will eventually get burned” and urged Western countries not to disrupt the “status quo” in the region.
Sunak has faced criticism for not directly condemning the move, but his allies say they have stepped up their approach to China since the prime minister took the top ten spot.
At a U.S. travel summit last month aimed at shifting the Indo-Pacific’s balance of power, Snack warned that China was “increasingly autocratic at home and assertive abroad.” .
He has revealed that as part of Britain’s ‘updated’ consolidation review, it will increase its defense spending by £5bn to counter adversaries.
But the prime minister did not go so far as to formally declare the country a national security threat, a stark contrast to her predecessor Liz Truss.
The move drew criticism from his own cabinet, and senior Tory MPs also wondered whether they could raise enough cash to rebuild the British military to a level sufficient to deter Russian and Chinese aggression. posed a question about