UK is making up its China policy 'as it goes along', British MPs warn

The UK is making up its policy on China 'as it goes along', a British parliamentary committee has warned. Its report said the lack of a coherent strategy is hampering British business and leaving national security risks unaddressed.

An investigation by the Commons business, innovation, science and trade select committee said Labour's failure to formulate a coherent strategy since 2024 had 'combined the worst of both worlds' for the UK in relation to China.

Liam Byrne, the Labour MP who chairs the committee, said the UK's policy on China was also endangering its business with the EU, with the risk of being 'cut off' from big manufacturing contracts.

The report found that the government could neither deliver commercial opportunities to British businesses nor control the 'increasing exposure to unquantified, managed risk' in relations with China.

The report said: 'In 2024, the new government promised a strategic, long-term, consistent UK approach to China. It has not delivered on this. Britain must shape its own relationship with China or risk having that relationship shaped for us in Washington or Beijing.'

The UK's relationship with China has been marked by a lack of engagement over the last 10 years, with Keir Starmer making the first official visit in January since Theresa May in 2018. That trip was billed as an effort to end the 'diplomatic ice age'.

The MPs acknowledged the advantages of trading with Beijing in their report, noting that British businesses have profitable operations in China and are 'ambitious to grow' and learn from the country's 'world-leading' innovations. At the same time, consumers benefit from low-cost imports when household incomes are squeezed, with electric vehicles being a case in point.

Byrne sharply criticised the government's piecemeal approach: 'Britain's businesses cannot plan for the future when the government keeps making up its China policy as it goes along. Ministers promised clarity and consistency. Instead, we have opportunities missed, risks unmanaged and decisions left until the 11th hour.'

The committee cited the decision in March to block the Chinese firm Ming Yang from building a £1.5bn wind energy plant in Scotland after years of negotiation, because of unspecified security risks.

The report calls for 'clear new rules of the game' and recommends designating a 'red zone' for industries that would be off-limits for Chinese investment and a 'green zone' where trade should be encouraged. It also said work on a new strategy should be combined with preparations for new trade remedies to counter unfair competition, including potential tariffs on electric vehicles.