The former Chancellor Philip Hammond has warned Britain against harming its trade links with China. Britain is currently embroiled in disagreements with China over the new security laws in Hong Kong as well as the tech firm Huawei.
The former MP and Chancellor has advised that the government must “tread carefully in how we manage this relationship” with China who are currently Britain’s third-largest trading partner behind the EU and U.S.
Mr Hammond served in the Cabinet under David Cameron and Theresa May, but it was David Cameron’s government that oversaw what Hammond has described as a “golden era” of relations with China.
Mr Hammond told the BBC Radio 4 Today program that he is concerned with an increase in what he sees as an anti-China sentiment in the UK. Mr Hammond said:“The U.K. is an open trading economy that depends on global trade, and right now the U.K. is in the process of loosening its ties with its traditional trade partners in European in the name of expanding its global reach, and it seems to me that this is not the time to be wanting to weaken our trade links with the world’s second-largest economy”.
Reports are doing the rounds that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce that the Chinese telecoms firm Huawei will be barred for use in Britain from next year due to U.S. sanctions. The Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming said yesterday that he hopes this is not true: “There’s also an element of trust — how could people trust you? I do hope the British government will make the decision in the best interests, not only in China’s interests, not only in the interests of U.K.-China co-operation but also in the interests of the U.K. itself”.
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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