Cleverly to defy Tory demands to cut ties with China in major speech
John Bolton: China’s ‘moment’ to take over Taiwan is now
The Foreign Secretary intends to use his speech to clarify Britain’s stance with China in the wake of new defence deals and decisions to block Chinese investment in some areas. In an interview at the G7 summit in Japan, Mr Cleverly has told Express.co.uk that the calls for strong action made by former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and others would be counterproductive.
A number of Tory MPs including Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith have called for much more robust action against China and have been sanctioned by the Communist regime.
There are serious ongoing concerns about systematic human rights abuses, Chinese attempts to gain influence through investment and stealing of copyrighted material as well as the threat to invade Taiwan.
But Mr Cleverly said: “I understand their concern. I’ve got colleagues who have been sanctioned by the Chinese state and I’ve raised that directly with [Chinese foreign minister] Wang Yi and I will continue to do so every time I meet them because it’s wrong, and they shouldn’t do it, and I’ve told them so.
“So, I get why a number of my colleagues are, are to use your word hawkish.
“But the point is, it’s not in their interest or my interest or anyone else’s interest to just kind of pull the shutters down on this relationship because China will carry on carrying on whether we engage with them or not.
“I am confident on behalf of the UK’s ability to drive change and positive change, including in China. And it’s not going to be easy, and it’s not going to be quick.
“And we’re not going to get them to completely redefine themselves. But we do have influence including with them.
“And if you don’t engage, we lose that influence. And I have no intention of throwing away what influence I do have, even with China.”
The issue of China and its threat to Western democracies and the Indo-Pacific dominated the G7 foreign ministers’ discussions in Karuizawa this week.
In particular, there are concerns about a potential invasion of Taiwan due to it’s crucial position for world shipping.
Mr Cleverly said: “It’s in everybody’s interest across the whole world for there not to be conflict across the Taiwan Strait.
“It is 50 percent of global trade 75 percent of the most sophisticated semiconductors and a whole load of other really key componentry in that geographical pinch point.
“And China often says ‘oh, this is a purely internal matter it’s got nothing to do with you’.
“I fundamentally disagree. It’s everybody’s business and in everybody’s interest. And I think Anna Lena (German foreign minister) her words rather than.
While Mr Cleverly was unwilling to say what would happen if China tries to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership on trade UK sources have suggested that it would be vetoed.
In his speech, he added: “I keep being asked to sum up the nature of the relationship in kind of like one word.
“So, are they competition? Are they a threat? Are they a challenge? Are they an opportunity? Are they a this or are they a that?
“The point that I’m going to try and get across is that we don’t distil any other bilateral relationship into one word.
“And with all the complexity of China, and China’s posture on the world stage, at our posture towards China, you can’t distil that complexity down into like one word. And not even that easily into one phrase or one sentence.
“But China’s big, it’s influential, it’s important. It has a huge technological heft.
It has an incredibly important role to play in environmental issues, economic issues, and so we have got to, and therefore we will, engage closely and regularly with China, because it would be really, really, really counterproductive not to do so.”
Source: Read Full Article