The news
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is expected to visit China next week, signaling a shift toward less confrontational ties with the world’s second-largest economy. The diplomatic mission comes at a time when the European Union remains at a standoff with Beijing over electric vehicle tariffs.
Britain’s new Labor government has described recalibrating relations with China as a “game-changing challenge” and has expressed willingness to resume talks on Beijing-backed investment to boost Britain’s ailing economy, including although it remains crucial to China’s human rights record.
Lammy’s visit comes at a time when there are still “significant differences” on trade between China and the European Union. In response to the EU’s recent decision to impose tariffs of up to 45% on Chinese electric cars, China has threatened retaliatory tariffs on European goods including dairy, cognac, pork and auto parts.
However, analysts say there is a limit to China’s ability to hit back. Luxury goods from Europe are unlikely to face tariffs because they generate higher tax revenues, and anything that could deter increasingly frugal Chinese consumers from spending could be “the opposite of what the government wants.”
