China’s rise: UK policy responses at home and abroad

Top lines

China’s geopolitical, economic and military ascendancy is undeniable. Its competition with the United States for global supremacy could be the defining geopolitical issue of our time.

Labour’s response to China’s rise has so far focused on foreign policy, particularly in relation to human rights, national security and diplomacy. However, China’s rise also has important implications for Labour’s domestic policy.

Labour’s shadow teams must work in tandem. Responding to China will require looking beyond foreign policy to Labour’s industrial strategy, as well as fiscal, environmental, immigration, education and technology policy.

Labour should call for a new industrial strategy to reduce reliance on China, including a state-led approach to boost R&D and technological competitiveness.

Labour should show leadership on climate change, cooperating with China on ambition but competing in green technology, working closely with Biden’s US Administration.

Labour must protect core digital technologies while working towards shared standards on Artificial Intelligence, and invest in UK and European semiconductor capacity.

Labour should call for the City of London to clean up its ties to companies complicit in human rights abuses, the Government to leave the UK-China Bilateral Investment Treaty, and for a review of the UK’s membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Labour should support diversification of international students in universities and protect the most sensitive courses from the Beijing Government’s influence.

Labour should push for an open immigration system which makes it easier for Chinese asylum seekers and Hong Kong nationals, particularly young residents without BNO status, to move to Britain. Labour should support retention of talent so that students who study in the UK can apply for visas more easily.

Photo: Lanterns hung in London’s Chinatown district, 2016. Dietmar Rabich via Wikimedia.