'Golden Era' of UK-China relations is over - British PM Rishi Sunak warns

London/Beijing: – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned that the relations between the two countries would not be the same in the future, saying that the United Kingdom needs to change its policy towards China. The golden era of UK-China relations is now over and no one should doubt that. There is also a need to dispel the notion that social and political reforms can be brought about by increasing trade. China poses a major challenge to British values and interests. China is moving more and more towards monopolism. Instead of listening to the voice of its protesting people, the Chinese regime seems to be cracking down on them. China did the same even against the BBC correspondent.

At an event held on Monday, the British Prime Minister highlighted the changes in foreign policy. At this time, Prime Minister Sunak explained that he would focus more on assistance to Ukraine, an aggressive stance against Russia and China and increasing participation in the Indo-Pacific. While the British government was changing its policy with China, it claimed it would not take an extreme stance as it did during the Cold War. But the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom mentioned that he would fight the Chinese challenge based on the support of other allies and strategic decisions. He also informed that China’s investment in the British technology and nuclear energy sector has been cancelled.

Moreover, Prime Minister Sunak indicated that while changing the policies towards China, cooperation with countries in the Indo-Pacific region will increase. Along with the free trade agreement with India, the British Prime Minister mentioned the increasing cooperation with countries like Indonesia, Australia and Japan. Over the past two decades, the United Kingdom has focused on increasing trade and investment cooperation with China. The British leadership had taken many decisions favouring China. British and Chinese leaders stated that this period was the golden era of British-Chinese relations.

However, due to issues like Coronavirus, security law and action in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, the United Kingdom and China started to clash consistently. China also expressed displeasure over the decisions taken by the United Kingdom regarding Chinese investment and warned that it would affect relations. Prime Minister Sunak’s statement lent credence to claims that good relations between the two countries had finally ended. This indicates that the political conflict between the two countries will intensify in the coming times.

हिंदी मराठी