David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, is touching down in Beijing for a two-day visit. The visit is the second by a foreign secretary in six years, with Lammy’s predecessor James Cleverly visiting last year after a five-year pause. However, Lammy’s visit is being met with intrigue, as it forms part of a wider shift on China. While Foreign Office officials shudder at the idea that this is a ‘reset’, it is clear that Keir Starmer is looking to improve relations with China.
Ministers are happy to talk about the need for a more pragmatic approach. Lammy’s supporters emphasise the importance of dialogue and point to how the US, where a bipartisan anti-Beijing consensus holds, has engaged directly with Chinese leaders. But what is the long-term aim? Eyebrows have been raised in government at the fact this visit is taking place before the new government’s China audit – aimed at setting a general direction across government – has been completed and published.
Already the Foreign Secretary has been accused of making undesirable trade-
Already the general direction seems clear.
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