'Starmer should strike a preemptive blow against China', Benedict Rogers
My list of actions Britain should take to disarm Xi and his malign influence
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to be “robust” with China.
It sounds better than his predecessor’s talk of “robust pragmatism”, but it must be accompanied by specific action. Tough talk, by itself, is next to meaningless if concrete measures do not follow.
In its manifesto, Labour promised a cross-Whitehall audit of China policy. This is welcome, as long as it is not an excuse for equivocation. It should involve serious reflection on the grave human rights crisis in China and how we hold the perpetrators of atrocities to account, an acute awareness of the transnational repression campaign waged by Beijing, and high alertness to the increasing security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the free world.
The audit, I would politely advise, should include consultation with civil society, security experts and diaspora communities, not least the more than 200,000 Hong Kongers who have made the UK their home, as well as Uyghurs, Tibetans and Chinese dissidents. It should build on the multiple warnings by the head of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ about China’s espionage threat to this country, and last year’s report by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, which warned that China has penetrated “every sector” of our economy in a “whole of state” assault, and that the UK’s response is “completely inadequate”.
As I have written many times for The Telegraph: China under Xi Jinping poses the single most important foreign policy challenge of our time. If you look at almost every other crisis around the world, you will find China’s fingerprints in some form. From enabling Putin’s war in Ukraine, as Nato leaders recognised this week, to its shadowy role in the Israel-Hamas conflict and across the Middle East, from facilitating brutal dictatorships in Myanmar and North Korea to threatening Taiwan, one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies, the regime in Beijing is the biggest threat to the international rules-based order.
But it is not only a foreign policy challenge – it is also a profoundly significant domestic policy concern. From its influence in our universities to its penetration of the City, from the cyber-security and espionage threats to transnational repression, China’s CCP regime should be recognised for what it is: not the “epoch-defining challenge” which Sunak called it, but a clear and present danger.
Labour’s stated China policy – to “co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must” – is admirably balanced. But to be realistic, the scope for co-operation is likely to be limited with a regime as aggressive and belligerent as Xi’s, and so the Government must be prepared to compete and challenge.
There are many steps that should be taken. Here are just a few ideas.
First, the government should declare a ban on the import of products made by forced labour in China, require British businesses manufacturing or importing from China to ensure their supply chains are free of slave labour and prohibit new trade agreements with a regime credibly accused – by the US government, our Parliament and an independent tribunal chaired by one of Britain’s top barristers, Sir Geoffrey Nice, KC – of genocide. They could facilitate this by ensuring all products made in China and potentially made by victims of modern slavery and genocide are labelled so.
Second, sanction those responsible for dismantling Hong Kong’s promised freedoms, in total breach of a UN-registered international treaty, the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Over the past five years, Hong Kong’s freedoms have been torn up and what was once one of Asia’s most open cities transformed into one of its most repressive police states. Freedom of expression, assembly and protest have been shut down, the independent media forced to close, civil society severely curtailed, pro-democracy politicians expelled and excluded from the legislature and hundreds of activists, including elected legislators, jailed. To allow those responsible to get away with this with impunity, with no consequence, simply emboldens them to extend their repression further.
Third, the prime minister, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, should meet Sebastien Lai, son of one of Hong Kong’s highest profile political prisoners, 76 year-old British citizen and entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, at the earliest opportunity. Lai, who has been in prison for over three and a half years, is currently on trial under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law and could die in jail. Sunak never responded to Sebastien’s repeated requests to meet, and it was not until last December – three years after Lai was first jailed – that a Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, agreed to do so. Sir Keir and Lammy should do so urgently, and should make it a priority to demand Lai’s release.
Fourth, Britain’s universities should receive help to reduce dependency on China, diversify funding sources and their international student intake. That does not mean rejecting Chinese students, but it does mean scrutinising their backgrounds more carefully, being more selective about what institutions in China to partner with, and crucially, broadening the pool of international students so that our higher education sector is not tilted to one particular market above others. The CCP’s influence on our campuses represents a serious threat to academic freedom, freedom of expression and our long-term security, and must be countered as a matter of urgency.
Fifth, the new government should take transnational repression seriously, and develop a range of tools to prevent infiltration, intimidation or harassment of both diaspora communities and prominent British critics of the CCP. I am not alone in having been on the receiving end of threats and attacks – indeed, several British Parliamentarians and scholars have also endured endless harassment. These incidents, and the cyber attacks from China on Parliament, the Electoral Commission, the Ministry of Defence and other institutions cannot go unchallenged. And if there is ever a repeat of the appalling incident in October 2022, when peaceful Hong Kong protesters were beaten up and dragged into the grounds of the Chinese Consulate in Manchester by Chinese diplomats, the new government must respond much more robustly than the last. It should instantly expel such agents, and declare them persona non grata.
Sixth, Sir Keir might like to review what progress there has been in stripping out Hikvision surveillance cameras from government buildings; he might ensure that hospitality is not offered to CCP representatives while UK Parliamentarians are sanctioned by Beijing; and he should reassure Hong Kong British National Overseas (BNO) status holders that they are welcome in this country, that their government will fight for their right to access their pension savings from Hong Kong and that, if they wish to study here, they will pay domestic, not international, fees. At the UN, he might ensure the UK plays a leading role in championing human rights resolutions on China in New York and Geneva.
And lastly, seventh, economic growth it is vital that the sources of trade and investment underpinning that growth are diverse, that we reduce dependency on any one market and “derisk” business relations with China. No one would seriously suggest we stop all trade with China, but we should think seriously about which sectors we allow Chinese investment in and the ethics of our supply chains. We should screen investment and reduce the exposure of our critical infrastructure to authoritarian regimes. And in its goal to deliver clean energy, the government should be wary of the dangers of dependency on Chinese electric vehicles – and their potential to be used for surveillance.
These are just some of the things that Sir Keir needs to think about. He also needs to consider how to hold China accountable for inflicting the Covid-19 pandemic upon the world, and make it a priority to stand with Taiwan and do everything possible to deter an invasion of that beautiful democracy and prevent a war that would be catastrophic for us all. He also ought to have at least a courtesy call – in person or online – with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, currently recovering from knee surgery in New York. Only then will he fulfil his vow to be “robust” on China.
This article was published in The Telegraph on 12 July 2024.