‘Golden era’ of relations with China is over, says PM

Rishi Sunak has signalled the end of the “golden era” of relations between Britain and China, using his first major foreign policy speech to warn of the creeping authoritarianism of Xi Jinping’s regime.

As police in China launched a show of force in an attempt to contain the highest levels of civil disobedience seen in decades, the prime minister threw his support behind protesters by condemning Beijing’s crackdown, as well as the assault on a BBC journalist.

Sunak suggested a hardening of diplomatic relations and called China a “systemic challenge to our values and interests”, while also confirming the UK’s defence and security strategy for the next decade, known as the Integrated Review, would be updated in the new year. However, he stopped short of calling China a threat, admitting western countries could not ignore its influence over world affairs and ability to help with shared challenges such as economic stability and climate change. Sunak used tough language to rebuke previous UK governments’ approach to China, saying he would reject “shorttermism or wishful thinking”. Recalling a term coined by David Cameron in 2015, the prime minister told dignitaries at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet on Monday night: “The so-called ‘golden era’ is over, along with the naive idea that trade would lead to social and political reform.” Sunak cautioned that Britain’s adversaries were planning for the “long-term”, and the UK needed to take a “longerterm view on China”.