Rishi Sunak Announces Golden era of UK-China Relations is Over

By: Defne Eldem, Arts and Entertainments Editor, The Pawprint

Rishi Sunak referred to the deeper economic connections of the previous decade as “naive” in his first statement on foreign policy.

He Declared that in order to compete effectively, the UK must now replace wishful thinking with “strong pragmatism.”

The “golden era” of UK-China ties and the “naive idea” that more commerce with the West would result in Chinese political reform, he continued, is “over.”

“We recognise China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism,” he said.