{"id":6283,"date":"2023-04-28T03:34:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T03:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/?p=6283"},"modified":"2023-04-28T03:34:26","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T03:34:26","slug":"if-china-invaded-taiwan-it-would-destroy-world-trade-says-james-cleverly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/if-china-invaded-taiwan-it-would-destroy-world-trade-says-james-cleverly\/","title":{"rendered":"If China invaded Taiwan it would destroy world trade, says James Cleverly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would destroy world trade, and distance would offer no protection to the inevitable catastrophic blow to the global economy, the UK\u2019s foreign secretary, James Cleverly<\/a>, warned in a set piece speech on Britain\u2019s relations with Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In remarks that differ from French president Emmanuel Macron\u2019s attempts to distance Europe<\/a> from any potential US involvement in a future conflict over Taiwan, and which firmly support continued if guarded engagement with Beijing, Cleverly said \u201cno country could shield itself from the repercussions of a war in Taiwan\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that he shuddered to think of the financial and human ruin that would ensue.

Urging no side to take unilateral action to change the status quo, he asserted the relevance of\u00a0Taiwan<\/a>\u00a0to UK interests saying: \u201cAbout half of the world\u2019s container ships pass through these vital waters [the Taiwan Strait] every year, laden with goods bound for Europe and the far corners of the world. Taiwan is a thriving democracy and a crucial link in global supply chains, particularly for advanced semi-conductors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA war across the Strait<\/a> would not only be a human tragedy, it would destroy world trade worth $2.6 trillion, according to Nikkei Asia. No country could shield itself from the repercussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDistance would offer no protection from this catastrophic blow to the global economy \u2013 and to China<\/a> most of all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cAs we watch new bases appearing in the South China Sea and beyond, we are bound to ask ourselves: what is it all for? Why is China making this colossal investment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we are left to draw our own conclusions, prudence dictates that we must assume the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall Cleverly set himself apart from advocates of economic decoupling including some of his own backbenchers saying he wanted Britain to \u201cengage directly with China, bilaterally and multilaterally, to preserve and create open, constructive and stable relations, reflecting China\u2019s global importance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he said the mass incarceration in Xinjiang cannot be ignored or brushed aside, he said: \u201cWe believe in a positive trade and investment relationship, whilst avoiding dependencies in critical supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want British companies to do business in China \u2013 just as American, ASEAN, Australian and EU companies do \u2013 and we will support their efforts to make the terms work for both sides, pushing for a level playing field and fairer competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China he acknowledged represented a ruthlessly authoritarian tradition utterly at odds with Britain\u2019s own. \u201cBut we have an obligation to future generations to engage because otherwise we would be failing in our duty to sustain \u2013 and shape \u2013 the international order. Shirking that challenge would be a sign not of strength but of weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time he balanced this by saying: \u201cThe UK had a right to protect core interests too, and one of them is to promote the kind of world that we want to live in, where people everywhere have a universal human right to be treated with dignity, free from torture, slavery or arbitrary detention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He insisted, without going into details: \u201cWe are not going to be silent about interference in our political system, or technology theft, or industrial espionage. We will do more to safeguard academic freedom and research.\u201d He did not repeat the promise by Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, to close Chinese-controlled Confucius Institutes at British universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also urged China in its relations with Russia over Ukraine not to allow Vladimir Putin to trample upon China\u2019s own stated principles of non-interference and respect for sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told China: \u201cA powerful and responsible nation cannot simply abstain when this happens, or draw closer to the aggressor, or aid and abet the aggression. The rights of a sovereign nation like Ukraine cannot be eradicated just because the eradicator enjoys a \u2018strategic partnership\u2019 with China.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beijing\u2019s response to the speech was muted. Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the foreign affairs ministry, focused on Cleverly\u2019s call for China to be transparent about \u201cthe doctrine and intent behind its military expansion\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mao accused Cleverly of making a \u201cgroundless\u201d accusation, and said China\u2019s defence building was aimed at safeguarding its own security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe advance modernisation in a peaceful way and have never invaded any country,\u201d she said at a regular press conference. \u201cChina has always pursued a national defence policy that is defensive in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an editorial, nationalistic tabloid the Global Times, said still the speech was \u201cfull of cold war cliches\u201d but also broadly a \u201ccorrection of the UK\u2019s aggressive line towards China\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe welcome Cleverly\u2019s positive remarks, at least it can be seen a little possibility of a turnaround in China-UK relations, but we remain cautious about how much it will be implemented in the UK\u2019s China policy,\u201d it said, warning the UK not to \u201cinterfere in the Taiwan question\u201d.

(Source: The Guardian)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would destroy world trade, and distance would offer no protection to the inevitable catastrophic blow to the global economy, the UK\u2019s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, warned in a set piece speech on Britain\u2019s relations with Beijing. In remarks that differ from French president Emmanuel Macron\u2019s attempts to distance Europe from any potential US …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":6284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[183,307,172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asian-issues","category-main-news","category-172"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6283"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6286,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283\/revisions\/6286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}