Source: Bloomberg

Author: Joe Mayes, Kitty Donaldson

British Prime Minister Sunak's decision to make Cameron's appointment as a Foreign Minister caused some criticism, because the friendly relationship between the former Prime Minister and Beijing did not meet the current Conservative Party.

When Cameron was the Prime Minister in 2015, he pioneered the "Golden Age" of the Chinese and English. At that time, he invited Xi Jinping, the Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited the British visit to drink beer together.Highlights of bilateral relations.

But in recent years, due to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other issues, and worrying that China may become a security threat, the relationship between the British government and Beijing has deteriorated.In an important foreign policy speech last year, Sonak said that China was "a systematic challenge to our values ​​and interests."

Since the failure of the Brexit referendum in 2016, Cameron has participated in all kinds of initiatives related to China, including assisting in the establishment of a $ 1 billion (about 1.36 billion Belt and Road "(about 1.36 billion" (approximately 1.36 billion Belt and Road "(approximately 1.36 billion"Xinyuan) British -China Investment Fund.He also lobered to attract foreign investment for the Coronaph Port City project in Sri Lanka, and the project was supported by China according to Politico.

"First Challenge"

Alicia Kearns, chairman of the Conservative Foreign Affairs Committee, said in an interview that Cameron would find a great change in the attitude of the parliament on the Chinese issue."Relationship with China is the primary challenge for us. For him, it is difficult to lead foreign policies to places that need to be advanced."

The British Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tangning Street did not reply to the review request on Monday.The reporter could not immediately contact Cameron's spokesman. He himself did not mention the Chinese issue in the appointment statement issued by the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

From 2010 to 2016, when Cameron served as Prime Minister, Britain was open to investment from China, including allowing China to invest in Xinkeli Nuclear Power Station.However, in recent years, the situation has changed a lot. The British government has been working hard to remove China from the key national infrastructure facilities, such as excluding Huawei technology in the 5G telecommunications network.

Even so, the total British -China trade in recent years has still increased significantly. In 2015, the bilateral trade volume was about 80 billion US dollars when Cameron was in power. By last year, Sunak reached US $ 132 billion.The former British Foreign Minister James Cleverly replaced by Cameron in this cabinet reorganization visited China in August and tried to repair some cracks of the two sides.

Earlier this year, the British Parliament Intelligence and Security Commission criticized Cameron's participation in the British -China Investment Fund in a report.According to the report, Cameron's role "may to some extent" is the planning and arrangement of the Chinese government to increase China's investment and the credibility of Chinese brands.

Luke de Pulford, executive director of the China Policy Council Alliance, said that the appointment of Cameron may promote Britain to dilute the differences with China and seek closer business connections.

"In addition to Beijing, it is difficult to see who can benefit from Cameron's Ren Foreign Minister," De Pulford said on the phone."Cameron is not a tough negotiating representative in Beijing. Everyone knows that he is standing on the side of Beijing. Cameron is very willing to open the British national infrastructure to China."