CCP officials flock to London to meet British ministers

Beijing unhappy with Strategic Defence Review; Washington opposes ‘mega embassy’

Observing China is the essential newsletter to understand the UK-PRC relationship, explained in the context of global developments.

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Why was London chosen as the destination for the trade talks between Beijing and Washington? His Majesty’s (HM) Government is hopeful that Donald Trump, President of the United States (US) suggested London because the United Kingdom (UK) is in a position to act as a bridge between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This is similar to how Whitehall was hoping to posit itself as an interlocutor between the US and the European Union (EU).

But Trump’s advisers continue to voice their displeasure over Beijing’s proposed ‘mega embassy’ in London, and last week, John Healey, Secretary of State for Defence, vowed to increase British cyberattacks on Beijing.

At the same time as the US-PRC trade talks were being held in London, a delegation of senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) visited the British capital, under the auspices of the Great Britain China Centre, an arm’s length body of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). According to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua, the outcome of this meeting is a bilateral commitment to enhance party exchanges.

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