The UK’s position on Hong Kong is not about rights, freedoms or any other noble ideal. It is about politics plain and simple. Equally, the cutting of ties with Huawei is not about any perceived threat of surveillance or too much dependence on China, again it is about politics.
Jun 5, 2020
Johnson has already highlighted the need for Britain to invest in its infrastructure networks if it is to keep its competitive advantage post-Brexit, pledging to install “fantastic full fiber broadband sprouting in every household” by 2025.
Jul 31, 2019
European countries have been consistent on their policy towards Huawei, preferring dialogue and inclusion rather than casting the company out.
Jun 3, 2019
“During the course of our history, as a commonwealth country and way back into the British Empire where Britain was connected by trade to most countries in the world, there has always been a spirit of adventure directed towards connecting countries and promoting trade.”
Jun 3, 2019
Experienced, successful and efficient, China’s HSR network is the standard that UK’s rail should be aspiring to, just as Osborne envisaged four years ago.
May 14, 2019
A week-long trip to an idyllic, snowy ski-resort high up in the Swiss Alps must have sounded like the perfect winter getaway for British prime minister Theresa May. Unfortunately for her, instead of attending the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, she remained in London, as she and her cabinet attempted to steady the good-ship Brexit, which has been blown widely off course over the last month. Recent events in Parliament have given Mrs May a mandate to return to Brussels and attempt to renegotiate issues over the Irish-backstop, which has become a red line issue for many Brexiteers (pro-Brexit voters). However, Members of Parliament (MPs) still failed to drop the controversial and potentially dangerous ‘no-deal’ scenario, which has led to many businesses re-positioning themselves away from Britain. Last week, Jaguar Land Rover have announced plans to slash 4,500 jobs worldwide, mostly in the UK and Ford have decided to restructure their 54,000-strong European workforce, partially as a result of Brexit, creating insecurity for its 13,000 UK-based workers. This follows cruise-ship company P&O Ferries, music giant Sony, fellow car manufacturer Bentley and electronics company Dyson, who all announced plans to either move headquarters or re-register away from the UK, the latter to Singapore. With the March 2019 deadline looming, thick black clouds are circling over Mrs May, who is quickly running […]
Jan 30, 2019
Under the circumstances of Sino-U.S. trade frictions and Pro-Brexit, China and the UK might become convenient bedfellows – centered around the Belt and Road Initiative and free trade.
Jul 5, 2018
The international situation in 2017 remained complexed and volatile, and significant changes happened in the internal affairs of many big countries. China, meanwhile, enriched and developed theory and practice of its diplomacy, achieving significant results in major country diplomacy and neighborhood diplomacy.
Jan 11, 2018
The year 2017 will conclude soon. Let’s have a review of which breaking events happened in the international stage in the past year.
Dec 27, 2017
“There are those who say we should fear China’s rise – that we should somehow guard ourselves against it. But we reject such thinking, which would simply leave the UK slipping behind. Instead, we should embrace it,” George Osborne, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced shortly before his five-day trip to China. The declaration was boldly made in an Observer article, which was also co-written by Lord O’Neil, a past economist for Goldman Sachs and the present commercial secretary to the UK’s Treasury. The article argues that “The future prosperity of [ the UK] depends on us strengthening our relationship with the world’s next superpower.” O’Neil and Osborne put forth that by reinforcing the UK’s relationship with the world’s second largest economy, the British would gain greater business opportunities in areas such as manufacturing and infrastructure, whilst the country’s economic stability would also be promoted as more Chinese enterprises would be drawn to expand their businesses in the UK. In some ways, the article almost reads as a love letter to China – surging with the enthusiastic compliments that are almost certainly aimed at getting the Chinese weak at the knees. The grand affirmations – such as “want[ing] to make the UK China’s best partner in the west,” – definitely give off such an impression. These songs of praise […]
Dec 25, 2015
1. What do Chinese people think of the UK? On the whole, we think Brits are polite and well-mannered. However, this is just a generalization – of course, there can be exceptions! 2. The UK and China have had their ups and downs. They fought each other during the Opium Wars, and the British – alongside the French – were even responsible for the burning down of the old Summer Palace. How is the relationship now? Look, people sometimes have disagreements with their colleagues, however, cooperation lies in everyone’s interests. Friendships can go up and down, but as long as their mutual interests will exist, so will the friendship. 3. One of the UK’s top politicians wants his homeland to become China’s best partner in the West. What are your thoughts? Both countries are trying to make use of each other, but doesn’t mean that they are also trying to help each other. As for the negative episodes of the past, like the Opium Wars, both UK and China have moved past these – its all water under the bridge now. 4. After the UK announced its membership of the China-led AIIB, the USA accused the UK of ‘constant accommodation’ to China. What do you make of this? The USA seriously accuses the UK of this? This reminds me of […]
Dec 22, 2015
However, this time it’s not Corbyn, the controversial newly-elected leader of the Labour party, who is at the centre of the attention, but rather the UK Health minister. Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative MP has been facing a furious backlash from both the media and the public after suggesting that Brits should work as hard as the Chinese. Whilst attending a Conservative conference, the politician argued that tax credits cuts were intended to incentivise the British public to work harder, and mark an important shift in the UK’s wor culture by “creating a pathway to independence, self-respect and dignity,” encouraging the public that one’s dignity is not contingent on their financial status but rather on the extent that they toil. Hunt put forth that : “We want this to be one of the most successful countries in the world in 20, 30, 40 years’ time. There’s a pretty difficult question that we have to answer, which is essentially: are we going to be a country which is prepared to work hard in the way that Asian economies are prepared to work hard, in the way that Americans are prepared to work hard?” And to the great astonishment of absolutely no one, it did not take long for Hunt to experience the glare of the British media, as they retaliated with scorching […]
Dec 14, 2015