In the sport of getting along, China and the UK should go for gold
Mark Logan says despite the ups and downs, Sino-UK ties have the potential to deepen. Much depends on the working relations between Xi Jinping and new British leader Theresa May
Olympic years are becoming increasingly seminal for UK-China relations: Beijing 2008 saw the global financial crisis swirl overhead; weeks before London 2012, then British prime minister David Cameron met the Dalai Lama; and Rio 2016’s carnival party was presaged by terrorist attacks, fears of a protectionist turn in US policy and uncertainty over the implications of Brexit.
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Beijing 2008 showcased China’s entrance onto the world stage. Society was becoming increasingly pluralistic. People were travelling more. Chinese demand for international education has surged, with 150,000 Chinese students now in the UK. After 2008, China helped mend the global economy and seemed an increasingly outward-looking nation.
Nevertheless, this didn’t prevent commentators analysing Boris Johnson’s (then the mayor of London and now foreign secretary) unbuttoned blazer while accepting the Olympic flag as subtle criticism of China’s interpretation of freedom.
In 2012, I was only a few weeks into my role at the British consulate in Shanghai when Cameron’s meeting with the Dalai Lama took place. Our government engagement efforts were significantly hamstrung. A 1948 Chinese Olympian’s return to London for the 2012 Games to meet a former rival was a rare chance to promote more positive relations.
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Fast forward to 2016. For Britain and China, Brexit has the potential to alter bilateral ties. Will relations deepen or wither due to Brexit-associated shifts in personnel?
Analysts are looking to the postponement of a decision on Hinkley (a Chinese-backed project to build a nuclear power plant in the UK) as evidence of a change in approach. But what’s more important from a Chinese perspective is guanxi – personal connections and working relationships. The relationship between new British Prime Minister Theresa May and President Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) will surely define the evolution of UK-China relations.
