Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says UK government policy towards China cannot continue to blow “hot and cold”.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the annual Lady Mayor’s banquet, traditionally used to set out foreign policy for the year ahead, Sir Keir told guests his government will focus on the relationship with China.<\/p>\n
The speech follows an MI5 alert about Chinese spies<\/a> targeting MPs and parliamentary staff, and comes less than a fortnight before a decision on whether China gets the green light to set up an embassy<\/a> in the capital despite security concerns.<\/p>\n The prime minister stressed that being tough on national security will enable the UK to pursue economic opportunities with the world’s second biggest economy.<\/p>\n Sir Keir’s speech in the City of London rejected the “isolationism” put forward by opponents of the Chinese government, notably former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, who say the state should be treated as an enemy.<\/p>\n However, failing to navigate a relationship with China would be “a dereliction of duty”, the prime minister said, when China is a “defining force in technology, trade and global governance”.<\/p>\n Building a careful relationship would instead bolster the UK’s place as a leader on the international stage and help secure UK national interests, he said, while still recognising the “reality” that China “poses national security threats”.<\/p>\n “Instead, for years we have blown hot and cold,” he said. “We had the golden age, which then flipped to an Ice Age. We reject that binary choice.<\/p>\n “So our response will not be driven by fear, nor softened by illusion. It will be grounded in strength, clarity and sober realism.”<\/p>\n Those security threats were clearly outlined earlier this month, when security services took the unusual step of issuing a warning that specifically identified two LinkedIn profiles set up with the names Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen<\/a>.<\/p>\n The alert explained the profiles were being used on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), acting as “civilian recruitment headhunters” to target individuals working in British politics “at scale”, including economists and think tank employees as well as people in Parliament.<\/p>\n A Chinese Embassy spokesperson denied the accusations of espionage and said they were “pure fabrication” that were “undermining China-UK relations”.<\/p>\n