UK-China ‘ice age’ thaws: Why the West needs Beijing

Key points

• Eight years after a British prime minister and foreign secretary made back-to-back visits to China, the Keir Starmer government is once again trying to reset relations with Beijing after a long period of what Starmer had in January described as an “ice age” in relations.
• Prime Minister Starmer went to Beijing in January, and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is currently visiting on a three-day trip, as the United Kingdom and China try to revive economic and diplomatic ties despite lingering differences over security, human rights and the Russian war on Ukraine.
• PM Theresa May and her Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt made similar visits to China soon after each other in 2018. The UK isn’t alone.
• Cooper’s visit to Beijing this week is the latest in a string of visits by global leaders and officials seemingly eager to engage with the second-largest economy in the world at a time of heightened...