In 2015, David Cameron heralded the elaborate state visit of dictator President Xi as symbolic of a new “golden era” of relations between the United Kingdom and China. This week, inspired by the historic success of the European Research Group (ERG) in securing the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, a group of Conservative MPs have launched the China Research Group (CRG). In much the same way that the ERG transformed the political landscape on Europe, the new CRG hopes to affect a shift in the British approach to China relations.
While the new group intends to emulate the successes of the ERG, it starts from a very different place. The ERG was founded by a group of fringe radicals, led by backbencher Sir Michael Spicer, and it would be years before the group became mainstream within the Conservative Party. The new CRG is headed by Tom Tugendhat, the widely-respected Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, who said that the group will “promote fresh thinking” by examining China’s long-term economic and diplomatic aims, especially with regard to developing nations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has become a watershed in relations between China and the West. As millions get infected and thousands die across the Western World, scepticism of China’s role on the global stage is only growing. The Chinese Communist Party has been accused of negligence for allowing wet markets to continue trading despite the public health risks, prompting the Prime Minister’s own partner Carrie Symonds to call for stronger action. Moreover, the regime has been condemned for attempting to conceal the outbreak by repressing information and persecuting whistleblowers, allowing the virus to spread around the world more easily.
For critics, China’s many malign activities have gone unchallenged for far too long: currency manipulation; intellectual property theft; the cultural genocide of the Uighurs; the violation of international waters with the construction of artificial islands; the continued support for rogue states like North Korea; the list goes on. In the UK, particular scorn has been directed towards the tepid UK response to the recent crackdown on political freedoms in Hong Kong. The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration commits China to safeguarding democratic norms within the British former colony until 2047.
As the now-second largest economy in the world, China has undeniably proven to be an economic success story, but that is what makes its rise all the more concerning. It’s more pragmatic approach, of ditching the old communist dogma which contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union and China’s creation of an authoritarian pseudo-market system, makes it a more pernicious rival and credible alternative for those disillusioned with liberal democracy, both on the left and the right and especially in poorer regions of the world.
China has been actively consolidating its geopolitical position for years without much impediment. The Belt and Road Initiative launched in 2013 has been especially effective at carving out a dominant market position for the rising superpower. Its massive infrastructure investments in other countries have the dual effect of securing favourable relations with foreign nations as well as often providing outposts for further Chinese operations. Moreover, China has an ever-growing foreign media presence, buying up vast swathes of African media to exert influence over the flow of information there.
This is not to say that opportunities for fruitful collaboration don’t remain between the UK and China. Some cooperation will always be necessary in such a globalised world. Nor does a new approach to the Chinese regime ever excuse any form of discrmination towards Chinese people under any circumstances. The new CRG group has stressed that they are not “anti-China” and a distinction must be made between the regime of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people. Indeed, Tugendhat has accused the ruling party of prioritising its own survival over the welfare of the people.
A more proactive response to China should not involve taking reactionary steps that ultimately harm the UK either. President Trump’s approach has been to pursue protectionism and isolationism, both of which do more to undermine the global role of the United States than anything else. It is right, for example, that the UK has continued to fund the World Health Organisation despite valid concerns that it has been far too cosy with Beijing. Retreating from the world stage will do little to safeguard the liberal world order.
The coronavirus pandemic means latent concerns about the role of China on the global stage have now come to the fore. The ERG transformed the Conservative Party into a solidly Eurosceptic force and it is possible that the CRG will succeed in directing Conservative policy in a more China-sceptic direction. China’s rapid expansion has demonstrated that those who cherish liberal democracy cannot afford to be complacent. If the Western World wants to protect itself and its values, it is going to have to start acting like it.
Joseph is Research and Communications Assistant at Bright Blue. [Image: Number 10]
