Grenville Cross says while it may disappoint Beijing’s antagonists, future relations between the two countries are set fair

Although Sir Keir Starmer was the United Kingdom’s prime minister for barely two years (2024-26), he was committed to warming Anglo-Chinese relations. After despatching a succession of senior ministers to China, including those responsible for finance, foreign affairs and trade, he visited Beijing himself in January, meeting President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, and other senior officials. His visit was the first by a British prime minister since Theresa May’s in 2018, and it augured a new era of UK-China relations.

Whereas his immediate predecessors, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, all too often indulged in mindless hostility toward Beijing (Johnson’s banning of Huawei technologies from the UK’s 5G networks in 2020, at Washington’s insistence, being a notorious example), Starmer realized that a “pragmatic” approach that prioritized trade and economic ties was in everybody’s interest. Immediately before departing for Beijing, Starmer approved China’s new London embassy near the Tower of London, which set the right tone. His visit yielded solid benefits for British businesses and citizens, including billions of pounds of investment deals, a cut in import duties on Scottish whisky, and visa-free travel for Britons visiting China.

Although sometimes overlooked, the UK and China, despite their different social systems, have much in common. Both want a stable world in which countries play by the rules, avoid conflict and cooperate to promote prosperity. They are both global powers and share a global outlook. Both are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and each exercises strong influence in particular areas (the UK, for example, through the Commonwealth and NATO, and China, for example, through BRICS and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank).

With Andy Burnham replacing Starmer on July 20, questions have inevitably arisen about whether the UK’s approach to China will change. Such questions are legitimate, as the UK’s policy toward China has been shockingly fickle. When David Cameron was prime minister (2010-16) he was the architect of the “golden era” of relations with China. This culminated in a state visit by President Xi Jinping to the UK in 2015 (which lasted almost a week, from Oct 19 to 23).

Cameron said Xi’s visit was founded on the basic belief “that a strong relationship is in the interests of both Britain and China”. This was not just because it brought investment, jobs, and higher living standards for people in both countries. He explained that the “more we trade together, the more we have a stake in each other’s success, and the more we understand each other, the more we can work together to confront the problems that face our world today”.

Wise words indeed, but they did not long survive Cameron’s departure. Whereas Johnson, Truss and Sunak wanted to tie the UK to US foreign policy objectives, a host of anti-China politicians and organizations set about poisoning Anglo-Chinese relations and undoing Cameron’s initiatives. They included politicians like Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Tom Tugendhat and David Alton (with Chris Patten baying from the wings), and organizations like Hong Kong Watch, the China Research Group and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. They were incensed by Starmer’s China reset, and with his departure they will undoubtedly hope to wreck it — although they will likely find themselves on a hiding to nothing.

While Burnham was the mayor of Greater Manchester (2017-26), he made no secret of his admiration for China. On April 17, when meeting Chinese consul general Tang Rui in Manchester, he fondly recalled his visits to China (including his 2018 trade mission). He said Greater Manchester attached great importance to developing its relations with the country. He expressed his “strong willingness” to make substantial efforts to achieve more solid results in cooperation in areas like advanced manufacturing, life sciences, green development and electric buses. If Burnham now translates this outlook from the urban to the national level, the future of Anglo-Chinese relations can only be bright.

Indeed, when Burnham’s new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, met the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, in Manila on July 23 (just three days after Burnham’s appointment), he stressed that the new British government attached great importance to its relations with China. The two countries needed to strengthen cooperation on global security, health and development issues. The UK, Miliband said, was ready to enhance exchanges with China at all levels, and Wang reciprocated.

When President Xi Jinping congratulated Burnham on his appointment on Sept 8, he emphasized (reported Xinhua) that China and the UK’s shared interests outweighed their differences in social systems. He said they should strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various areas. In response, Burnham said the UK was willing to maintain “the continuity of its China policy”, build a “long-term, stable strategic partnership”, and, crucially, “restore bilateral relations to their highest historical level” (which, at the very least, was redolent of the “golden era”).  

As things stand, therefore, it is clear that Starmer’s China policy has not only survived his departure, but may actually be gaining momentum under Burnham. If so, the beneficiaries will be the peoples of both countries. However much it may disappoint the anti-China lobby, future relations between the two countries are set for a positive trajectory. This time it will hopefully endure.

The author is a senior counsel and law professor, and was previously the director of public prosecutions of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.