China

Rachel Reeves is on her way back to the UK after a brief visit to China over the weekend. The Chancellor faced calls to cancel the trip, not over alleged human rights abuses by her hosts, but instead because of the state of the UK bond market. However, those around Reeves did not seriously consider cancelling her visit to China, taking the view that to call it off would have added to a sense of panic. After borrowing costs soared in the days before she departed, Reeves abruptly cancelling the trip would have likely drawn comparisons with 1976, when chancellor Denis Healey turned back at Heathrow, aborting a planned trip

Forty years ago today, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and China’s Premier Zhao Ziyang signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, an international treaty designed to pave the way for the handover of Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997. Meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, leaders of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) regime promised to respect a ‘high degree of autonomy’ for Hong Kong and uphold the territory’s way of life, including its basic freedoms and the rule of law for at least fifty years from the time of the handover.  They lied – or at least, they broke their promises. Forty years on, that treaty –

As the fallout continues from the latest China spy scandal, it is hard not to conclude that Labour’s policy on Beijing – as far as one can be identified – adds up to appeasement in the vain hope of some economic crumbs from the Emperor’s table. It will certainly be seen by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a green light for stepping up what Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, has described as ‘a sustained campaign on a pretty epic scale’. ‘National security is the most important issue of our times,’ said Keir Starmer at the time of 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, a few weeks before the general

In an effort to create a cutting edge force, the Chinese Communist party (CCP) has spent billions of dollars expanding and modernising its armed forces at a pace rarely seen in peace time. But on the evidence of the last few days, the most cutting edge features of its top ranks remain corruption and political intrigue. Miao Hua, one of China’s top commanders has been suspended and is under investigation for ‘serious violations of discipline’ – CCP-speak for corruption, according to the defence ministry. Miao, a navy admiral, is one of six members of the party’s powerful central military commission, chaired by President Xi Jinping. He was also head of

Since Keir Starmer took office, Britain’s approach to Taiwan seems to have changed little from that of the previous Tory government – but is that really the case? Beneath the surface, there are worrying signs that Starmer’s government wants to dodge discussing the potential flashpoint of Taiwan’s sovereignty, lest it disrupt their attempt to reset relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) The previous government, in the 2023 Integrated Review Refresh, committed the United Kingdom to supporting stability across the strait. Rishi Sunak, when asked about arms sales to the island, was unequivocal: ‘We stand ready to support Taiwan’. Starmer’s government appears to have followed suit: as per the Foreign Office statement following last

Hong Kong has sentenced dozens of democracy protestors to years in prison, in the largest trial since Beijing’s National Security Law was imposed on the city in 2020. The imprisonment of the 45 former elected legislators and pro-democracy campaigners comes just a day after Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping, telling the Chinese leader that he wants a “strong UK-China relationship”. The draconian punishments that have been dished out today are a humiliation for the Prime Minister’s attempt to build rapport with Beijing. Student leader Joshua Wong was imprisoned for four years Among those who have been locked up are law professor Benny Tai, sentenced to ten years, journalist Gwyneth Ho,

In many respects, the Chinese Communist party’s (CCP) response to one of the deadliest mass killings in recent Chinese history is drearily familiar. The authorities now say that at least 35 people were killed and dozens injured on Monday evening when the 62-year-old driver of an SUV rammed his vehicle into crowds at a local sports stadium. But it took the authorities more than a day to release details and initial online searches were heavily censored. Videos from the scene in the southern city of Zhuhai posted to social media were deleted – even state media reports were removed from the internet. BBC journalists were told to stop filming when

The Chinese Communist party (CCP) is spooked by Halloween. In Shanghai, police have rounded up people gathering in costumes that included a Donald Trump with bandaged right ear, Spiderman, Deadpool and Batman. A man dressed as Buddha was also shown being escorted away in videos posted on Chinese social media, but quickly deleted by online censors. The aim seems to be to prevent a repeat of last year’s celebrations, when revellers used the occasion to take a tongue-in-cheek poke at the CCP, and costumes included a surveillance camera and hazmat suits (a swipe at Covid lockdowns). It has at times been like a game of cat and mouse The online

David Lammy is in China on a mission to reset relations with Beijing. But the Foreign Secretary has also pledged to raise some difficult subjects with his hosts. For a politician who heavily criticised the Conservatives’ approach to China, it’s not clear that Lammy is coming up with anything new now he’s in office. Lammy has talked up the difficult issues he will raise with Beijing When Lammy was shadow foreign secretary, he was brave on China. Only last year, he agreed that China’s actions in Xinjiang were genocide and pledged to ‘act multilaterally with our partners’ to pursue a legal reckoning for Beijing. A few months later, he lambasted

In the coming days, Foreign Secretary David Lammy will visit China and Chancellor Rachel Reeves is eyeing up a visit early next year for economic and financial dialogue. Whilst engagement is important, it’s not unreasonable to expect an understanding of the government’s strategic position on such a defining relationship before ministers board their flights. Does the government believe in deepening and expanding cooperation with China, or does it believe – as it appeared to in opposition – that China is a threat and must be dealt with as such? We are simply left guessing. As Starmer marks his first 100 days in office, the fact that there is little-to-no clarity

The Foreign Secretary David Lammy will touch down in Beijing next week to pay his respects. Next year, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, is expected to do the same. We haven’t seen this level of deference to the Chinese Communist party since 2019. Back then, Philip Hammond heaped praise on his hosts. He endorsed their Belt and Road initiative – of Chinese-funded infrastructure spanning the globe – and promised British co-operation ‘as we harness the “Golden Era” of UK-China relations’. The calls from Tory China hawks to label Xi’s empire ‘a systemic threat’ hold little sway with the new regime That was the high-water mark of Anglo-Chinese collaboration. George Osborne and

Ten years ago this week, a sea of yellow umbrellas filled the streets of Hong Kong in what at the time was the largest mass campaign for democracy in the city. In what became known as the ‘Umbrella Movement’, the people of Hong Kong courageously showed the world their desire for freedom – and their determination to fight for it. For 79 days, crowds occupied major streets in the centre of Hong Kong, demanding genuine multi-party democracy. The protests were preceded by demands by civil rights groups in an unofficial referendum for universal suffrage in elections for the city’s chief executive (effectively, the mayor) – a right promised in Hong

It was presented as a bold stimulus to boost China’s ailing economy – but while it excited stock markets in Asia, Western economists were underwhelmed. At a rare press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, the usually gnomic governor of the People’s Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng, unveiled a range of measures designed to ‘support the stable growth of China’s economy’ and see that it hits this year’s target of five per cent growth. There was a time when such measures, which included an interest rate cut and more funds to support the stock and property markets, would have quickened the pulse of investors. But this is unlikely to reverse their