As a visionary and strategic choice that would meet its long-term interest, the UK may become the western country that is “most open to China”, as China’s President Xi Jinping and the UK’s chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne (who visited China last month, when he highlighted economic ties with China rather than contentious issues including human rights and cybersecurity) voiced in their remarks prior to Xi’s state visit. Xi arrived in London this Monday.

A “golden era” in trade and investment between China and Great Britain has been mentioned in the remarks of both countries’ leaders. Despite that the United States, a strong ally of the United Kingdom, opposed China’s new Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), the UK became the first Western country to apply for membership earlier this year. Moreover, Chancellor Osborne plans to allow China to help design and build two nuclear power plants in the UK (a multi-billion-pound deal that would bring £100 billion worth of Chinese investment into the country), shocking some experts who fear that such plans would pose threats to the UK’s national security. Government officials defended these plans by emphasizing Britain’s needs in the inward investment so that it is not left behind, compared to other developed countries. Simultaneously, China would benefit from having the UK as a trade partner and ally.

Prince Charles, on the other hand, quietly protests by not to attend the official banquet in President Xi’s honor at the Buckingham Palace (although he will be meeting President Xi in private). His silent resistance is what the New York Times considered “emblematic of an uneasy strain running through Britain, Germany and much of the EU: how to balance vital commercial interests with a rising China with expressing concerns about human rights, the rule of law, individual freedoms and democracy, which China takes as meddling in domestic matters”. Whilst the British royalty no longer plays a dominant role in politics and international affairs, it is interesting to observe how the heir to the throne thinks about this matter in question.

Meanwhile, it is noticeable that although the UK’s decline in its hard power (or global hegemony) from its “Golden Age” around Queen Elizabeth I’s reign is undeniable, one could consider its soft power: the power to attract, rather than to coerce. Despite that it is difficult to measure the impact of soft power in relation to hard power, arguably, British soft power is still quite prevalent in China in today’s world: the Harry Potter series and Kate Middleton are just two examples of how British cultural phenomena could readily reach the Chinese despite the sheer geographical distance between the two countries in this era of globalization.

Speaking of decline, we cannot ignore China’s recent decline in economic power and in particular, its intense volatility in the stock market and sharp reduction in growth, either. There is a debate that is ongoing about China’s hegemony: will China truly become the next global leader, surpassing the United States? Considering the full picture triggers a series of further questions. Will the cooperation between China and the UK be, and remain in a longer term, a win-win situation for both countries, truly? Will this become an example of cooperation between states begetting more cooperation, an idea in which neoliberalists would believe in the realm of international relations? These are questions that are pending responses. It would be rather interesting to see how the two countries work together in the years to come.

Sources

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/18/britian-has-made-visionary-choice-to-become-chinas-best-friend-says-xi

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/world/europe/before-palace-banquet-for-xi-jinping-a-snub-from-prince-charles.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11938501/Ambassador-Liu-Xiaoming-UK-China-relations-are-at-their-strongest.html

http://atimes.com/2015/10/security-concern-in-uk-over-possible-nuclear-deal-with-china/

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/10/17/uk-china-britain-idUKKCN0SB10N20151017

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/world/asia/britain-to-put-commerce-with-china-first-in-president-xi-jinpings-state-visit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

April Xiaoyi Xu