Isolating China is ‘betrayal of national interest’, UK minister will say

James Cleverly will argue for constructive engagement with Beijing

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will argue for constructive engagement with Beijing. AP

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will claim isolating China is a “betrayal” of the national interest in a speech setting out the government’s position on Beijing.

Mr Cleverly will tell those at the Lord Mayor’s Easter Banquet in London that the UK must engage directly with China to promote stability.

He is set to deny China should be classed as a “threat”, because its scale and complexity cannot be reduced to one-word descriptions.

Mr Cleverly will break from tradition by dedicating the speech — in which foreign secretaries typically set out their views on a broad range of foreign policy issues — entirely to talk of Beijing.

“No significant global problem, from climate change to pandemic prevention, from economic stability to nuclear proliferation, can be solved without China,” he will say at the event on Tuesday, according to excerpts of his speech that were released early.

“To give up on China would be to give up on addressing humanity’s biggest problems.

“It would be clear and easy, perhaps even satisfying, for me to declare a new Cold War and say that our goal is to isolate China.

“Clear, easy, satisfying — and wrong. Because it would be a betrayal of our national interest and a wilful misunderstanding of the modern world.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said that while the speech would push for constructive engagement with Beijing, the UK must be realistic about its authoritarianism.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly would like direct engagement with China, and says isolation is a betrayal of UK interests. AFP

“We do not expect our disagreements with China to be swiftly overcome, but we do expect China to observe the laws and obligations that it has freely accepted,” Mr Cleverly will say.

“Peaceful coexistence has to begin with respecting fundamental laws and institutions, including the UN Charter, which protects every country against invasion.”

Mr Cleverly will say the UK’s “multifaceted” approach must strengthen national security protection whenever Beijing poses a threat, deepen co-operation with allies in the Indo-Pacific region to uphold international law, and engage directly with China.

He will also urge China to be transparent about its military expansion, saying the UK is “prepared to be open about our presence in the Indo-Pacific” and encouraging China to be “equally open”.

“Secrecy can only increase the risk of tragic miscalculation,” Mr Cleverly will say.

The speech will criticise Chinese “repression” and pledge that the UK will continue to highlight the situation involving the Uighur people.

Mr Cleverly is understood to want to visit China after warning that the UK should not “pull the shutters down” on Beijing.

His comments could anger Tory backbenchers, many of whom hold a more aggressive stance on Beijing and have voiced concerns about possible appeasement.

Former prime minister Liz Truss urged ministers to ensure Beijing could never join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc — concerns that were echoed by former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.

Ms Truss had been expected to designate China as a “threat” during her short-lived leadership, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has instead described the nation as a “systemic challenge”.