Analysis | Beijing puts Britain in its place - behind Germany and France - ahead of Li Keqiang visit
Beijing official gives his ranking of European powers, highlighting issue of managing ties with China
With a date for tea with the Queen in the bag for the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, this week, Beijing decided to place Britain ever so gently in its place.
Britain now ranks behind Germany and France among the pre-eminent powers in Europe, the Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming declared on the eve of the premier’s three-day visit to Britain, which starts today.
”Before I came here, we used to say when we talk about Europe: Britain, France and Germany,” Liu told reporters.
“But unfortunately many opportunities were missed in the past year or so, and we all know the reason behind it, so people now start talking about Germany, France and Britain.”
The remarks by the ambassador, who highlighted a series of missed opportunities by Britain, ranging from the failure to build a third runway at Heathrow to an overly restrictive visa regime, show the delicate challenge in managing diplomatic relations with China.
David Cameron, in common with all his immediate predecessors, believes that Britain must forge a strong political and economic relationship with a country that is on course to move ahead of the US as the world’s largest economy.