In the wake of British Minister of State for Trade Policy Greg Hand’s visit to Taiwan this week, Chinese state-owned media outlet Global Times described the United Kingdom (UK) as “penny wise and pound foolish.”
In an apparent threat of retaliatory trade measures, the article noted that although the UK’s trade with Taiwan has increased by 14%, China remains the UK’s third-largest trade partner.
China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the UK and the Taiwan region. pic.twitter.com/6xgGcSZBzB
— Spokesperson发言人办公室 (@MFA_China) November 7, 2022
The Chinese government mouthpiece stressed that the “provocative move” will not succeed in “shifting attention” away from the UK’s political and economic crisis, as a result of which the country has seen three prime ministers (PMs) this year.
It further cautioned that undermining the ‘one-China’ principle could attract even “more mess” for the British government.
Zhao Chen, a researcher at the Institute of European Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that the UK has slowly “lost its sober and balanced mentality” since 2016 because it has been “blindly following some of the US’ strategic aims and wearing biased glasses when promoting global business.” He lamented that the UK has lost its ‘independence’ under US pressure.
In particular, Zhao took aim at the UK’s prioritisation of ideology and “so-called democratic principles” in pursuance of a “Global Britain” vision in the wake of Brexit.
He underscored that Hands’ visit is a violation of international law, comparing it to United States (US) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island in August, following which China undertook a number of aggressive military manoeuvres and suspended various avenues of cooperation with the US and repeatedly warned of firm countermeasures.
It’s exciting that my first foreign visit since rejoining @tradegovuk is to Taiwan.
— Greg Hands (@GregHands) November 7, 2022
Our 25th annual trade talks on Wednesday - I have led four of them!
I first came to Taiwan in 1991, and it was good last night to check out Taipei’s temples and night markets - as I did then! pic.twitter.com/kZBNOOUW3Q
In this regard, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in his press conference on Monday that Beijing “firmly opposes” any official interactions between Taiwan and countries with diplomatic ties with China, which he said are based on mutual adherence to the ‘one-China’ principle, which enshrines that Taiwan is an “inalienable part of China’s territory.”
In this regard, he urged the UK to “stop having any form of official interaction with Taiwan and stop sending wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.” He further warned Taiwanese authorities that “any attempt to seek independence by colluding with external forces is doomed to fail.”
Hands departed for Taiwan on Monday for a two-day visit, during which he plans to co-host the 25th annual UK-Taiwan Trade Talks. According to a press release by the British government, the event is aimed at “boosting trade and future-proofing” the UK’s economy by bolstering “green trade and supply chains.” It marks the first visit by a British minister to Taiwan since 2018.
The statement described the visit as a “clear signal” of the British government’s commitment to expanding ties with Taiwan, which it said is a “champion of free and fair trade underpinned by a rules-based global trading system.”
Zhao Lijian: We have reiterated China’s principled position on the Taiwan question on multiple occasions. There is but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. pic.twitter.com/N7KIL1dymW
— Zhang Heqing张和清 (@zhang_heqing) November 8, 2022
In this regard, Hands said that his trip indicates the UK’s “post-Brexit tilt towards the Indo-Pacific,” which he said will help “future-proof the economy.
The trade minister will meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, top trade negotiator John Deng, Economic Minister Wang Hei-Hua, and Deputy Economy Minister Chern-Chyi Chen. The meeting will focus on removing trade barriers in the fintech, food and drink, and pharmaceutical sectors.
Trade between the two countries stands at around $9.2 billion and has increased by 14% over the last two years. In particular, the UK looks to Taiwan for its expertise and comparative advantage in the semiconductor industry, given that the chips it produces are used in a wide variety of electronic devices like phones and electric vehicles.
Taipei, meanwhile, will seek to tap into British expertise in “offshore wind, hydrogen, and electric vehicles.”
The 25th UK-Taiwan Trade Talks British Business Survey reveals that 88% of British companies in Taiwan are “optimistic about its economy and prospects.”
To this end, the two sides will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding on technology and innovation, facilitating a $5.7 million Innovation Programme for British businesses in Taiwan.
Hands noted in an op-ed for The Times ahead of his visit that there are more than 180 Taiwanese companies in the UK and around 300 British firms operating in Taiwan.
The UK and Taiwan are also bidding to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
China maintains that Taiwan is integral to its territory despite Taipei declaring independence during the 1949 civil war. Taipei has established formal diplomatic ties with merely 14 countries, a list that does not include the UK, the US, or any other Western powers.
63 PLA aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels around our surrounding region were detected today (Nov. 7, 2022) until 1700(GMT+8). #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded to these activities with aircraft in CAP, naval vessels, and land-based missile systems. pic.twitter.com/P231DsFB6V
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) November 7, 2022
These developments come amid China’s increasingly aggressive stand against Taiwan. Just this Monday, the Ministry of National Defence detected 63 Chinese aircraft and four naval vessels in its surrounding region.
Last month, China said it reserves the right to use force against Taiwan in compelling situations, although achieving reunification peacefully would be its ideal route.
These tensions have pushed several Western countries to take a stand on the China-Taiwan issue. A US Central Intelligence Agency report in September said that Beijing is prepared to invade Taiwan by 2027, even though it may still need to decide whether to proceed with the attack. To this end, US President Joe Biden said that American troops would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
Amid the West’s fresh impetus to ties with Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken against “containing and suppressing” China.
Meanwhile, the UK’s relationship with China has also deteriorated over the last few years, particularly under the Johnson administration, under whom it took various steps to toughen its stance on China, including: introducing a new law to reduce Chinese acquisition of British businesses, opening the door to nearly three million people fleeing Hong Kong over the imposition of the national security law; banning Chinese telecommunications company Huawei from the UK’s 5G network; slashing aid to China by 95%; joining the AUKUS partnership with the United States (US) and Australia; and voicing concerns about human rights abuses in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet.
This aggressive stance has continued under the incumbent Sunak government. In fact, Alicia Kearns, the newly-appointed chair of the United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign Affairs Committee, last week described China as a “terrorist state.”
In addition, Minister of State for Security Ton Tugendhat announced on Thursday that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to ban all 30 Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes from British universities, saying they “pose a threat to civil liberties in many universities.”
Sunak, too, has been a vocal critic of China, describing it as the “largest threat to Britain and the world’s security.”
He has thus vowed to “expand” British intelligence agency MI5’s “reach” to ensure greater protection to British businesses and universities against Chinese “industrial espionage” in order to safeguard intellectual property.
Sunak has also taken aim at China’s perceived debt-trap diplomacy in developing countries and raised concerns about rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, saying it “tortures, detains, and indoctrinates” its own citizens.
The new PM has also spoken out about the danger of Chinese acquisitions of local companies, particularly of “strategically sensitive tech firms.”