UK Uses Cleverly Visit to Steady China Ties After Rocky Period

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly sought to put the UK’s ties with China on a more even keel after a rocky few years in which the relationship was damaged by the coronavirus pandemic, clashes over Hong Kong, and suspicions about Chinese involvement in critical British industries.

Cleverly’s visit didn’t hark back to the so-called golden era of China relations that former Prime Minister David Cameron tried to usher in eight years ago: the foreign secretary was at pains to point out to broadcasters that he’d raised the issue of human rights in all his meetings. But he did seek to find common ground on global issues, highlighting the “pragmatic” approach to the world’s second biggest economy that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is trying to chart.