Boris Johnson’s China balancing act faces test as G7 comes to town
- Like much of Europe, Britain has tried to strike a balance with Beijing but will face pressure from Biden to get tougher
- Five Eyes’ focus on China also weighs on Whitehall, which previously provided intelligence on the mainland to serve the alliance
The Johnson government, like many Western administrations, is trying to balance a tough line on China’s human rights record, while maintaining strong trade ties.
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This balancing act was helpfully laid out in 114 pages of official policy in March. The Integrated Review, Johnson’s first foreign policy framework, contained 29 references to “China” or “Chinese”, well ahead of the United States (15), Russia (14), or France (12).
“China is a systemic competitor”, an “authoritarian state” which “presents the biggest state-based threat to the UK’s economic security”, the report read.
At the same time, though, Britain “will continue to pursue a positive economic relationship, including deeper trade links and more Chinese investment in the UK”.
Such contradictory policy is not uncommon these days in the West, where few have figured out how to successfully continue to sell goods to China’s 1.4 billion people, while holding it to account on human rights and security issues.