On July 4, the British public voted overwhelmingly to reject the Conservative government of Rishi Sunak and deliver Keir Starmer’s Labour Party to office, bringing them to power for the first time since 2010. After years of political instability, controversy and chaos that have beset the United Kingdom, as well as economic stagnation and decline, it is hoped that the new government will offer a spell of stability, sensibility, and pragmatism in its policies both at home and abroad. With Starmer commanding a massive majority, he is surely comfortable to forge his own vision for the country.
With it, it is hoped that the UK will be able to earnestly and productively reengage with one of its key economic partners — China. The previous government is guilty as charged of destroying the bilateral relationship with Beijing due to its mismanagement of Britain’s foreign policy as a whole, having pursued a highly ideological path with Brexit, excessive subservience to the United States, and also deliberately whipping up anti-China sentiment domestically for its own political gain to distract from its failures, as well as opposition from certain parliamentary members’ groups who were subject to the influence of foreign organizations.
The new government therefore offers an opportunity for Britain to reset its relations with the world on more sensible terms. Although we should not expect geopolitical realities to change, and while Starmer is by no means a radical, having purged the “anti-war left” from his party while in opposition, what we can realistically expect is a foreign policy based more on pragmatism, national interests, and sensibility, as opposed to one premised on ideology, identity, and short-termism.
What we are likely to see from a Labour government is not a drastic change in policy, but certainly a rebalancing that will make it possible for London to have an amicable relationship with Beijing again and to compartmentalize disagreements and areas of cooperation
For example, the previous Conservative government was so obsessed with pursuing a bilateral trade agreement with the US on the sole premise of Anglophone exceptionalism, as opposed to actual benefits, that even as a protectionist, Washington showed no interest in such a deal, and Downing Street happily sacrificed its other interests on a whim, especially those concerning China. Its routine weaponization of anti-China sentiment for short-term political gain also made it impossible to engage with Beijing even as Sunak professed that he wished to do so in certain areas, becoming a victim of internal party conflict.
As a result, what we are likely to see from a Labour government is not a drastic change in policy, but certainly a rebalancing that will make it possible for London to have an amicable relationship with Beijing again and to compartmentalize disagreements and areas of cooperation. Already, Starmer’s government is pursuing a “reset” with the European Union that has been described as an “end to the Brexit era”; in other words, an end to the theatrical nationalism and imperial-era nostalgia of the conservatives and a return of cooperation-focused policies. When the time is right, we are likely to see this happen with China too.
While the previous government was subjected to backbench rebellions frequently led by highly ideological anti-China members of Parliament, Starmer’s large-scale majority and emphasis on party discipline will mean his agenda will be undisrupted, and therefore backbench MPs cannot impose “costs” on the government for engaging with Beijing. For example, owing to factional conflict within the Conservative Party, individuals such as Iain Duncan Smith and Liz Truss held disproportionate influence over the government’s positions on China and threatened rebellion constantly, which is what produced such jarring inconsistencies.
However, Beijing should nonetheless be aware that US-funded groups and organizations, as well as Taiwan, will continue to press for influence among the new batch of MPs, as well as a hostile mainstream media, and thus the so-called “golden era” will not return. This, however, is preferable to the Cold War-style conflict that was actively sought by some in the previous administration. Ultimately, the UK continues to have significant interests in a cooperative, open and mature relationship with China, one which can be made to work despite ideological and geopolitical differences. As Britain enters a new era, it is therefore time for a mature “reset” based on national interests.
The author is a British political and international-relations analyst.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
