Rachel Reeves heads to China to build bridges, but a new golden era of relations is impossible
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Seeking business partners post-Brexit is sound policy, but even in these darker geopolitical times the UK will ultimately side with the US. Rachel Reeves will fly with a delegation of City grandees to China this week as Labour seeks closer economic links with Beijing as part of its quest for growth.
With the outlook increasingly rocky at home after a run of soft economic data, the chancellor is sorely in need of a positive story to tell. She appears determined to normalise the UK’s relationship with the communist superpower, despite mounting security concerns and a backdrop of growing geopolitical tension.
In the past few weeks alone, the UK has expelled an alleged Chinese spy and friend of Prince Andrew, Yang Tengbo, while the US Treasury has accused Beijing of hacking into staff computers. Meanwhile, a lawyer for Shein – the online retailer founded in China and which is lobbying over a potential £50bn London float – was accused of “wilful ignorance” over its supply chain practices by British MPs.
At the same time, Beijing is expected to be at the sharp end of Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policy, which could result in tariffs of up to 60% being slapped on all Chinese goods. Policymakers are already contending with a rapidly declining yuan and a stock market selloff.
Notwithstanding this inauspicious backdrop – and Beijing’s deeply problematic human rights record – Labour is making a concerted effort to build bridges with China. The foreign secretary, David Lammy, visited the country in October, and Keir Starmer had a face-to-face meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of November’s G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
