UK PM Sunak warns against ‘blanket’ protectionism to counter China
- G7 leaders discussed recently how to tackle China’s economic threat together; UK PM spoke on Tuesday of ‘sensitive sectors’ involving ‘robust’ UK approach
- But he also said ‘this is not an excuse for a blanket descent into protectionism’
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has warned against Group of Seven (G7) nations descending into “blanket” protectionism in an effort to tackle China’s economic threat.
The UK is taking a more “targeted and specific” approach in areas where China poses the greatest threat to its economic security, Sunak told the London Defence Conference on Tuesday.
There are a “limited number of very sensitive sectors”, such as semiconductors, where the government will take a “particularly robust” approach, he said.
“But this is not an excuse for a blanket descent into protectionism,” he said.
G7 leaders used a summit last week in Hiroshima, Japan to discuss how to tackle China collectively. They agreed to strive for “constructive and stable” relations even as they pushed ahead with steps to reduce dependence on Beijing for critical supply chains.
Rather than “decoupling or turning inward”, they said, “economic resilience requires de-risking and diversifying”.