Ruby Osman, a China expert at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in London, founded by the former prime minister, said the announcement might bring some “clarity” after a period of “inconsistent strategies on China” in recent years.
01:30
Matthew Trickett, a British man accused of espionage in Hong Kong, found dead in park
Matthew Trickett, a British man accused of espionage in Hong Kong, found dead in park
Before the election, the new Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, said Labour’s strategy on China was “progressive realism” and to “compete, cooperate and challenge”.
“Progressive realism [getting] “Things can be done. Solving some of the world’s problems means going out and talking to people you don’t necessarily agree with 100 percent,” Osman said.
“I think the Chinese side is also very keen to negotiate with the Workers’ Party. I think from Beijing’s perspective, they want to use this election to create a reset.”
In response to the results, China’s Foreign Ministry said it was “willing to work with the UK to put Sino-British relations on the right track based on mutual respect and win-win cooperation.”
Ministry spokesman Mao Ning added that the “stable and mutually beneficial” relationship would help the two sides “jointly respond to global challenges and promote world peace and development.”
Shi Zhiqin, a professor of international relations specialising in European studies at Tsinghua University, said the previous Labour and Cameron governments had pursued “very friendly policies towards China” but now “the overall direction of relations between the two countries is only getting worse”.
He said, “On major security issues…” [US and British] “The policies of the two countries should be broadly aligned,” he said, adding that both countries were suspicious of Chinese investment and Beijing’s stance on the war in Ukraine.
Last year, Chinese-owned Dutch subsidiary Nexperia was forced to sell Britain’s largest semiconductor factory to a US company on national security grounds.
Sebastian Contin Trillo Figueroa, a geopolitical analyst at the University of Hong Kong, said Britain’s Indo-Pacific policy was likely to remain committed to the “Oaks” tripartite security pact with the United States and Australia to counter growing Chinese influence in the region.
He also predicted that restrictions on Chinese vendors in the 5G market would continue.
James Downs, an assistant professor of comparative politics and international relations at Hong Kong Metropolitan University, said China would maintain “strategic ambiguity”.
“We will continue to focus on leveraging our economic interests with China while maintaining close ties with both the United States and the EU,” he said.
He added that Labour was likely to share concerns about excess manufacturing capacity in the United States and the European Union, which he said was being produced to squeeze Western markets after the two countries imposed tariffs on new energy products such as electric cars.
But he said a return of Trump to the White House could complicate Britain’s China policy. For example, Trump has threatened to impose a universal 10% tariff on all US imports, including those from European allies, which could prompt them to step up economic cooperation with China.
Rong Jing, deputy director of the European Studies Centre at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, said Labour tends to adopt a more pragmatic economic policy towards China than the Conservatives.
“The UK has always been the more pragmatic and commercial international player… It will strengthen cooperation. [with China] “From a more practical perspective, given the post-Brexit slowdown, stagnation or even recession of the UK economy and the significant decline in UK trade with China, this is a huge change,” she said.
01:18
Hong Kong leader and chief justice express regret over British judge’s resignation from Supreme Court
Hong Kong leader and chief justice express regret over British judge’s resignation from Supreme Court
She added that new cooperation could be fostered in areas such as AI governance, digital economy and people-to-people exchanges.
Wang Yiwei, a Europe expert at Renmin University of China, said business and non-governmental exchanges between the two countries were increasing.
“[Britain] They definitely want to renegotiate with China… We want to win. [the UK’s trust] “Similarly,” said Wang, who has been involved in some of those discussions.
But observers said the prospects for high-level exchanges, including a visit by the leaders of the two countries, were low because of issues China considers its “core interests” – such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and human rights in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region – and where outsiders should not interfere.
“If the Workers’ Party continues to insist on Hong Kong’s autonomy or to insist on enforcing compliance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration, [on the handover]”That could complicate the Chinese leadership’s willingness to accept the visit,” Trillo Figueroa said.
