Opinion | UK government has no control over its China Policy
By Tom Fowdy
The British government has repeatedly stated that it strives for moderation and balance in its relationship with China, with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly having claimed in his own words that it would "not be credible to disengage" with Beijing. This has been much to the ire of the ultra-hawks repeatedly causing trouble behind the scenes, not least Liz Truss and Iain Duncan Smith amongst others. It was no surprise amidst the mass hysteria about the so-called "parliamentary spy" last week that the UK government quickly found itself on the retreat, Rishi Sunak, as predictable, referred to China as a "threat to our way of life", nonsensical rhetoric abounded such as accusing Beijing of "interference in our democracy" and of course quickly the policy recommendations are rolling off the right-wing press already, including banning Confucius Institutes, recruiting Taiwanese as the replacements, designating China an "official threat", etc etc.
The British government is weak. In fact, under this administration, be it Rishi Sunak or Boris Johnson, it has always been weak, and shows limited control and sovereignty over its foreign policy pertaining to Beijing. There is one underlying theme that continues to persist, every time Downing Street strives to strike a balanced position with respect to China on matters of British national interest, it is quickly bullied into making a politically opportunistic U-turn by a fifth column of MPs (usually led by Duncan Smith) or for that matter, even the United States itself. This has to a repeated pattern of 1) The UK government decides to stick with something related to China 2) An event occurs where hawks take the opportunity to whip up extreme hysteria and force a paradigm shift 3) US pressure coincides with it 4) The UK government changes its mind and gives it up.
The Huawei 5G row was the first instance of this behavior happening. The UK government was well aware that Huawei's participation was critical to its own broadband and infrastructure development, and therefore publicly resisted calls from the United States to give in. Soon, opportunistic right-wing MPs began to formulate a rebellion but failed initially. However, the COVID-19 pandemic was then used to unleash a tidal wave of vitriol pertaining to China which hawks, including Iain Duncan Smith and Tom Tugenhadt, seized upon aggressively and forced a reset in public opinion and British foreign policy. This of course was boosted by Britain's demonic tabloid press, and with the US also putting pressure on the UK to change course, the UK ultimately U-turned and banned it at a great cost to itself, contradicting its own initial security review which said it was safe in the process
The second U-turn involved the Newport Wafer Fabrication plant, a retro semiconductor firm that produces 200nm wafer chips, hardly a competitive or sensitive product. The plant was taken over by a Dutch firm owned by China. Again, the British government did not calibrate such a threat to be a national security threat by 2021, and approached it. Suddenly, as the United States continued to exert pressure on the UK government and force a reset in engagement with China, another "national security review" emerged that contradicted the original. Seeking political plaudits, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak then immediately had the takeover vetoed on entering office, a move which has effectively put the future of the plant and all of its jobs at risk. The second embarrassing U-turn against British national interests.
The third one is now Confucius Institutes, although the British government had pledged there was no justification in banning them, as always the hawks never take no for an answer and continue to push until they get what they want. There is little contemplation or care for Mandarin Education, that is because the wholesale demonization of China is reducing interest in the language anyway, and nor do these people truly want a more objective or balanced attempt to understand Beijing, let alone on its own terms. As such, they are now capitalizing on the spy story hysteria in order to force through their agenda and capitulate the government to a third China-related U-turn, something the unpopular, politically weak, opportunistic and scandal-ridden Rishi Sunak government will probably obligate to.
It is on this premise that Britain's claim to "engage" with China just isn't credible, because the British government cannot be said to control its own foreign policy on the matter. Attempts to engage with China are undermined with calibrated hysteria, fearmongering and boxing the British government into unwanted U-turns. In a nutshell, their policy is frequently made either in Washington or on the back benches.
Read more articles by Tom Fowdy:
Opinion | How the US crushed the 'China Dream' in the West
Opinion | The Chill of McCarthyism sweeps Westminster
Comment