Britain "woke up"? It seems to have become cautious in following the United States in provoking China

Author: Assassin

As the "staunchest ally" of the United States, Britain can be called a "member of the US anti-China camp." However, with the changes in the international situation, the Uk seems to have stopped a lot in provoking China recently. Britain recently participated in the Joint Declaration on Xinjiang launched by France and sent warships across the Taiwan Strait, but compared with the arrogance of the United States, Britain seems to be retreating on the anti-China "battlefield."

As we all know, the current life in the UK is not good at all, on the one hand, it has encountered crises such as rare oil shortages and supply chain tensions, and on the other hand, it has been "group beaten" by the European Union because of the fishing rights dispute with France. However, for the difficult Britain, there is finally good news waiting.

According to the data released by China Business Network on the 7th, China has become the largest source of imports from the United Kingdom. As of September this year, bilateral trade between China and the UK has exceeded US$80 billion this year, and China's imports from and exports to the UK have increased by more than 25%. Meanwhile, China has invested more than $2 billion in britain this year, quadrupling year-on-year.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the deterioration of China-UK relations, trade and investment between the two countries have been able to overcome the impact of these adverse factors and grow against the trend, illustrating the strong resilience and vitality of the trade and investment relationship between China and the UK. And all of this is obviously related to the recent changes in Britain's China policy.

At the end of last month, the leaders of China and the United Kingdom held a telephone meeting. British Prime Minister Johnson has made a commitment to the Chinese side that it is willing to improve the country's investment environment and create a level playing field for Chinese companies to invest in the UK. Prior to this, British Foreign Secretary Teras also took the initiative to invite the Chinese foreign ministers to make a call, and the foreign ministers of the two sides communicated on the problems existing between the two sides, creating a good political atmosphere for the two heads of state to call.

At the same time, the International Relations Committee of the British House of Lords recently issued a report opposing the use of harsh terms such as "systemic competition" to describe Sino-British relations, because this may be considered a euphemism for "threat". It is time for britain to abandon the idea that China is a "threat" to Britain.

Obviously, britain is an important member of the anti-China camp of the United States, but its provocative acts against China do not seem to be as extreme as Japan or Australia. At the very least, London's approach to Sino-British relations has always retained considerable room for manoeuvre. Therefore, the Johnson administration was forced by the pressure of the United States and domestic conservative forces to prohibit China's Huawei from participating in the construction of the country's new generation of communications networks, but he resisted the pressure of the United States to promote the acquisition of British chipmakers by Chinese companies.

In addition, the British naval aircraft carrier formation has recently launched military activities in the Asia-Pacific region, but compared with the arrogance of the United States, Japan and Australia, the United Kingdom has maintained a relatively low-key posture. Even during joint military exercises with the South Korean Navy, the location was chosen in non-sensitive waters that avoid irritating China. In this regard, some analysts believe that the United Kingdom did this to avoid overstimulating China.

All in all, Britain seems to have become more cautious in following the United States in provoking China. In fact, although the UK is one of the main members of the Western world, it seems more lonely than ever after Brexit. After Brexit, the United Kingdom placed its economic development on the signing of a bilateral agreement with the United States, but it was fooled by the United States, and the bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom has not yet been signed.

After leaving the EU family, the UK became an "outsider" to the EU. As britain leaves the EU in the absence of a deal, its trade and investment relationship with the EU has been severely affected. Total EU investment in the UK fell sharply by half last year. Nowadays, the United Kingdom has colluded with the United States and Australia to steal French submarine orders, and its relations with the European Union are tense, and the country's economic development is even worse.

The EU's desperation, and the ongoing supply chain crisis, have forced the UK to turn its sights on China. Therefore, in terms of developing trade relations with China, the British government and parliament seem to have reached a consensus. Not long ago, the British House of Lords also issued a report pointing out that the United Kingdom lacks a clear China policy, which poses an obstacle to increasing Sino-British trade and investment.

The gradual warming of China-UK relations is a major factor in the substantial growth of bilateral trade and investment, and it also shows that the UK's attitude towards China's rise has changed. This does not mean that Britain will break away from the US camp, but at least, in the face of the selfishness and cold-bloodedness of its allies on issues involving interests, the British seem to be beginning to wake up and begin to take substantive actions to improve relations with China in order to strive for a new level of economic and trade cooperation between China and the United Kingdom.