British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Declares ‘Golden Era’ Between the UK and China Is OVER

SUNAK: “Now let’s be clear, the so-called golden era is over along with a naive idea that trade would automatically lead to social and political reform, but nor should we rely on simplistic Cold War rhetoric. We recognize China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism. Instead of listening to their people’s protests, the Chinese government has chosen to crack down further, including by assaulting a BBC journalist. The media and our parliamentarians must be able to highlight these issues without sanction, including calling out abuses in Xinjiang and the curtailment of freedom in Hong Kong. (...) The pace of geopolitical changes intensifying. Our adversaries and competitors plan for the long term. After years of pushing at the boundaries, Russia is challenging the fundamental principles of the U.N. Charter. China is conspicuously competing for global influence, using all the levers of state power. Now, in the face of these challenges, short-termism or wishful thinking will not suffice. We can’t depend on Cold War arguments or approaches or mere sentimentality about our past, so we will make an evolutionary leap in our approach. This means being stronger in defending our values and the openness on which our prosperity depends.”