Global race? Lack of air routes means we’re already on the slow boat to China

Trade missions are almost comically pointless nowadays, as George Osborne’s visit demonstrated this week in Beijing. He is right that there are serious problems in our trade relations with China — an emerging economic superpower that buys more from Switzerland than it does from Britain. In fact, we export depressingly little to any major emerging market. It’s a matter of real concern — but flying off to China won’t fix it. There’s no evidence that trade missions make a blind bit of difference.

When Richard Nixon made his historic visit to China in 1972, it did represent an economic breakthrough. It was far harder, back then, for companies to break into well-protected markets — especially if trade was curtailed for political reasons. But in today’s globalised world, businessmen are quite capable of buying their own ticket to Qatar or Shanghai. Those who accompanied the Chancellor this week will have certainly enjoyed the trip: it allows them to pose as ambassadors and represents a great chance to lobby the government. But this is corporatism, not capitalism. Free markets work best when politicians keep a safe distance from chief executives.

David Cameron seems not to recognise this. He regularly travels with a coterie of pin-stripes, and the Foreign Office has issued instructions to promote British trade as its first priority. But there is a difference between the interests of big business and the interest of a nation. There are many rich regimes willing to place big orders (or donate pandas), and we should treat them with caution. A trade-first foreign policy can make Britain seem chiefly interested in buying cheap oil or selling expensive equipment.

Shortly after the Arab Spring began, Mr Cameron visited Egypt and several Gulf states, impressively promoting freedom.