China-United Kingdom relations

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil on 18 November, marking the first meeting between the heads of state of the two countries in six years The meeting, held at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, lasted approximately 20 minutes. During this brief but significant engagement, Prime Minister Starmer emphasised the importance of a “strong UK-China relationship” for …

Sam Godsland, Senior Programme Director at Wilton Park, explores how Britain can grow a new tradition of ‘normal’ dialogue with China in a rapidly changing world The visit of David Cameron and Xi Jinping to the Plough Inn at Cadsden, Buckinghamshire in 2015 has come to be seen as the defining moment of the ‘Golden Era’ of UK-China relations. The scene suggests a sense of normality; two men arrive in a pub, …

Former diplomat and prolific author Kerry Brown, currently Professor of Chinese Studies at Kings College London’s Lau Institute, has just published The Great Reversal (Yale University Press). The book takes as its starting point that while modern China has a narrative of its relationship with Britain, Britons don’t have a similar understanding of our relationship with China. If they are taught any history at all, children at schools in the United Kingdom today are more likely …