The prime minister cannot wish away the contradictions between upholding democratic values and pursuing commercial interests with Beijing
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t has been clear for many years that China’s status as a second global superpower poses challenges to the world’s democracies. Donald Trump’s marauding behaviour as president of the first-placed superpower makes those challenges more acute. In the past, the UK’s relationship with Beijing has been anchored, and sometimes dictated, by the alliance with Washington. Mr Trump’s contempt for former allies, expressed as sabotage of Nato and a scattergun imposition of tariffs, scrambles the old strategic calculus.
This is an ominous backdrop for Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing. The prime minister is trying to perform a difficult balancing act, looking for commercial opportunity in a growing powerhouse while protecting national security from an authoritarian behemoth.
China accounts for just under a fifth of global gross domestic product. Its manufacturing output is greater than all G7 nations combined. It has a formidable AI sector, the only one in the world that competes with the US. It leads the world in green energy technology – a field the current climate-sceptic White House administration is happy to neglect.
