Title: After Cameron's comeback and call with Wang Yi, the British policy stepped on the brakes or stepped on the accelerator?
Hey, have you heard? Britain's new foreign minister, yes, is the former prime minister David Cameron we are familiar with! This is not small news, after all, during his six-year reign, Sino-British relations were as good as those "golden years." Now that he has made a strong comeback as a foreign minister, people can't help but look forward to whether they can continue to lead.
No, as soon as Cameron came back, he had a telephone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. You might want to know what the two of them were talking about, right? As far as I know, during this phone call, Wang Yi gave Cameron some kind advice. He stressed that China and Britain are good partners in each other's development opportunities, and called on Britain to take a correct view of bilateral relations and to cooperate and coordinate actions in the international community. It feels like reminders and advice from old friends.
And our Cameron was not ambiguous, and immediately responded to Wang Yi by saying that no country in the world can face global challenges alone. He also stressed that Sino-British contacts and cooperation are of great benefit to both sides, and pledged to work to develop relations with China. Doesn't that sound sincere? But then again, the situation after the phone hung up is a bit more delicate. The British government has followed suit by sanctioning 46 entities and individuals – including three Chinese companies – accusing them of supporting Russia's so-called "war machine" in Ukraine. This suddenly made the atmosphere extremely embarrassing, and it seemed that the rhythm of friendly exchanges with China suddenly changed to a sudden brake.
The Chinese Embassy in the UK reacted swiftly and bluntly expressed its firm opposition to and stern condemnation of such acts. The embassy said that such violations of international law and abuse of unilateral sanctions must be stopped immediately, and warned that if the British side continues to harm China's interests, it will definitely meet with a tough response from China.
Although everyone hopes that Cameron can mend the relationship between the two countries, if the British government continues to find fault in the future... Well... It may be difficult for Cameron to make a difference.
In short, we can see from this incident that international diplomacy is really not simple -- on the one hand, it is necessary to maintain its image and show goodwill, and on the other hand, it is necessary to deal with practical problems and adhere to principles. It is true that Sino-British relations are now at a very sensitive and unpredictable stage. After all, in this interconnected world, it is not easy to be truly isolated.