Johnson: UK must be ready for more trade with China

LONDON • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted that the country must be ready to increase trade with China, in the face of criticism that his government is putting commercial deals ahead of security and human rights.

Setting out his principles for Britain's future foreign and defence policies, Mr Johnson told Parliament that his administration would defend its values as well as its interests.

He said Britain had already called out China for the treatment of its predominately Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang, and had intervened to offer three million of Hong Kong's people a path to becoming British citizens.

"There is no question that China will pose a great challenge for an open society such as ours," Mr Johnson said on Tuesday.

"But we will also work with China where that is consistent with our values and interests, including building a stronger and positive economic relationship and in addressing climate change."

Some of Mr Johnson's own Conservatives - including former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt - raised concerns that he was not taking a strong enough line against Beijing and urged him to think again.

Meanwhile, a report by British lawmakers said there was compelling evidence that major fashion, retail, media and technology companies that do significant business in Britain were complicit in forced labour practices in Xinjiang.

Whether China appreciates Mr Johnson's efforts to strike a balance remains unclear.

Chinese diplomats have repeatedly denounced his government over its efforts to support Hong Kong's pro-democracy opposition and ban China's main state television network.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying last month urged Britain to "immediately stop making political manoeuvres and correct its mistakes", after the British communications regulator revoked CGTN's broadcasting licence.

Last week, the ministry summoned the British ambassador to China, Ms Caroline Wilson, over a commentary she wrote defending the foreign media.

China denies using forced labour in Xinjiang, explaining its policies as vocational programmes to combat extremism and poverty.

Mr Johnson is in a delicate position as he seeks to shape a new role for Britain outside the European Union, striking commercial agreements with new allies while attempting to show that the country is still a force for "good" in the world.

His struggle parallels that of the European Union, which is facing resistance in Parliament to an investment deal announced last December despite concerns about forced labour.

A defence blueprint for the next decade released by Mr Johnson's government on Tuesday called for greater focus on the Indian and Pacific oceans. That included upgrades to bases in Cyprus, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya, Oman and Singapore so that forces can respond more quickly to threats.

The British leader's effort to defend his record on China was dented when the HuffPost UK website published a leaked recording of Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab briefing an internal meeting of his officials that human rights considerations would not always trump trade needs.

Restricting trade pacts to countries that meet the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) would result in missing out on commerce with "growth markets", Mr Raab said.

"I squarely believe we ought to be trading liberally around the world," he told his team. "If we restrict it to countries with ECHR-level standards of human rights, we're not going to do many trade deals with the growth markets of the future."

The Foreign Office responded by insisting that the leaked recording from the staff meeting had been selectively edited.

A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the minister had in fact made clear "in his full answer" that Britain always defends human rights, and highlighted examples of sanctions and action the country had taken at the United Nations.

"We regret that this audio has been deliberately and selectively clipped to distort the Foreign Secretary's comments," the spokesman said. "As he made crystal clear in his full answer, the UK always stands up for and speaks out on human rights."

BLOOMBERG