Whoever runs Britain will struggle to get tough on China
The opposition Labour Party talks of disengaging, but would struggle to do so
BRITAIN IS “robust” and “ahead of many of our partners” in responding to a rising China, Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, said on July 13th. The House of Commons Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) disagreed. Its report on China, published the same day, slammed the government for putting economic concerns ahead of national-security ones and human rights. In doing so, it said, the government had jeopardised even the business benefits. It laid out a “nightmare scenario” in which Chinese entities steal blueprints, win influence and exert “political and economic influence at every step”.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Growing hostility”
Britain July 22nd 2023
From the July 22nd 2023 edition
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