By Tom Fowdy
On Thursday (Jan. 29), British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the two countries proceeded to announce a number of deals. Amongst them was an agreement for British passport holders to be able to enter China's Mainland without a visa for 30 days, ending a long and bureaucratic process to apply for a visa.
Although China has already provided visa-free access to numerous other Western countries, Britain was ultimately late to the party precisely because prior to Starmer, the previous government had pursued a path of isolationism and ideological hostility towards the country which the current Prime Minister has denounced as an "ice age." Unlike the aggressive and self-defeating Conservative approach, Starmer's approach to China is driven by pragmatism and a confident understanding that engagement with the country is in the British national interest. As he stated in Beijing, "You need to see the whole of the elephant."
I first travelled to China in 2014, and bar a gap of three years caused by pandemic travel restrictions, have often done so since. The process of getting a visa has always been time-consuming and costly, and if I must be honest, it even became a deterrent in recent years as it was very competitive to get an appointment at the Seoul visa office where I live. I felt locked out, which led me to spend more time in Hong Kong in recent years. Thus, the announcement of British passport holders now being able to enter China visa-free makes life so much easier not only for myself, but for all other British travellers and business people.
It was, however, not surprising that the news was met with ridicule and scorn by some sections of British society on social media. These comments consisted of statements along the lines of "Why would anyone want to visit China?" Such viewpoints are a product of the vehement hostility in which the British press and media have treated China in recent years. Keir Starmer's reopening of engagement with Beijing ultimately carries the political baggage of a society that has been primed to treat China as an enemy, been fed endless stories stirring up paranoia, suspicion, and ardent hostility, thus leading to a "mismatch" reaction from parts of the public.
As such, let us answer the question about visiting ourselves: China should not be reduced to a caricature of ideology or political controversies. China is one of the most significant countries in the world. It is a vast nation of over 1.4 billion people, one of the largest in terms of geographic size and it is a civilization spanning thousands of years with unprecedented cultural and historical depth. There is so much to see and experience in China: from a wide variety of regional cuisines, to areas of immense natural beauty, to wonders of the world, to sprawling modern megacities like Shanghai, and even that city's Disneyland. Why would anyone not feel a sense of wonder and appreciation about this? It does not have to be a political endorsement.
It goes without saying that many British minds have been "closed" about China due to the relentless media negativity of recent years. Yet by bringing down the barriers to entry, there is now a window of opportunity for that to change. Britain's relationship with China does not have to be a round geopolitical marriage and ideological pact, but it should be based on pragmatism, common sense and reason. Chinese people have an overwhelming appreciation of Britain and its culture, you just have to look at all the young people donning Hogwarts Robes to see the Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios Beijing, and the huge sense of romanticism they have for Britain. So, let us hope that trade, travel and human-to-human ties between the two countries will now improve, and that the British public will stop having their opinions of the country spoon-fed to them by right-wing tabloid newspapers.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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