Opinion | Chinese investment could soon pour back into Britain. It’s about time

Although the brief “golden era” of Sino-British relations between 2015 and 2017 is over, an extended period of more sober and pragmatic commercial relations may be at hand. UK media reports point to senior Chinese and British finance ministry officials setting the stage for detailed economic talks in the near future.

Reports also suggest Britain’s new finance minister, Rachel Reeves, may travel to Beijing early next year to discuss trade and investment. The news follows China’s Vice-Premier He Lifeng’s phone call with Reeves last month. Both stated an interest in resuming economic and financial dialogue which has been on ice since 2019.

The new mood music emerged shortly after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was elected in July. In his second month in office, Starmer spoke on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During their call, the leaders talked about potential areas of cooperation such as the economy, trade and education. Both also emphasised nurturing consistent and stable political and economic ties. To launch this fresh policy approach, there would be a series of bilateral dialogues involving their various ministries, which are now swinging into motion.

Interestingly, Starmer’s election campaign prioritised new foreign policy initiatives including a “full audit” of UK-China relations. The mere fact of this use of business terminology might suggest a greater emphasis on economic objectives in preference to volatile geopolitical issues.

During his election campaign, Starmer had championed wealth creation driven by economic growth. Indeed, from the outset, China may well have been considered when the Labour government was setting ambitions to deal with the UK’s deepening economic disparities. The focus would likely be on the economic upgrading of regions outside the wealthy centres of London and surrounding southeast England.