Will Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng’s trip to King Charles’ coronation help reset ties with Britain?

Britain’s leaders are seeking to reset the relationship with China as Foreign Secretary James Cleverly seeks a meeting with Vice-President Han Zheng, who is visiting for King Charles’ coronation.

A few years ago, then British prime minister David Cameron hailed a “golden era” in relations between the two countries, but since then tensions over issues such as human rights, security and the crackdown on the Hong Kong protest movement have brought the relationship to the lowest point in decades.

Cleverly, who is trying to arrange a visit to China, said earlier this week he would like to discuss a range of subjects with Han, including areas where Britain has “points of criticism”.

The possible meeting on the sidelines might present signs of a reset for the relationship between the two countries, according to Yu Jie, a senior China research fellow at the Chatham House think tank.

“Yet the fundamental challenges within UK-China relations remain unchanged; issues over Hong Kong, technology and security and sanctions imposed by both sides,” she said.

While the leaders of France, Germany and Spain have visited China in recent months and called for more engagement, senior British leaders have not met their Chinese counterparts in person since 2018 and aligned themselves with the United States in taking a tough stance on China.

When asked at a regular press conference whether Cleverly would be invited to visit in the near future on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning did not answer the question, only saying China was always open to dialogue and exchange.

“However, to have any dialogue there must be mutual respect,” Mao said, adding that the two sides must be willing to meet each other halfway.

According to Yu, “Beijing is firmly convinced that the UK is in close coordination on its China position with Washington and in no hurry to invite a senior Tory minister to visit until US-China tension begins to ease.”

Britain and China agree to keep lines of dialogue open

Han, in the largely ceremonial role of vice-president, is not a bad choice for Beijing to send to this event given the state of the relationship, said Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute and professor of Chinese studies at King’s College London.

“The simple geopolitical reality is that Britain is a much smaller and weaker interlocutor with China than even a few years ago. It needs to work in alliance in order to have any chance of properly influencing China,” said Brown.

“Britain, despite the shrill voices of the hawks, needs to have workable relations with China.”

However, some members of the ruling Conservative Party have criticised Han’s attendance because of his previous role as head of the central leading group on Hong Kong and Macau affairs during the 2019 protests and imposition of the national security law.

At a welcome dinner hosted by members of the Chinese and British business community in London on Thursday, Han issued a goodwill message calling for a joint effort to improve relations.

“China views Britain’s international role and influence from a positive perspective and always treats the country as a strategic partner,” he said.

Cui Hongjian, a specialist in European studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said there are two preconditions before Beijing extends an invitation to senior members of the British government: reaching a consensus on some issues and working out a list of substantial areas for cooperation.

“It is pointless to arrange a visit just for the sake of visiting if it can be predicted that it will be unproductive,” Cui said. “When the two conditions are met, the resumption of high-level exchanges is just a matter of time.”

In an annual review of Britain’s national security strategy published in March, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defined China as an “epoch-defining and systemic challenge” rather than a “threat” – despite calls for a tougher stance from the more hawkish members of his Conservative Party.

British lawmakers want harder line against ‘threat’ posed by China

Echoing that, Cleverly in a speech to business leaders last week said it would be a “betrayal” of Britain’s national interest to “declare some kind of new cold war and say that our goal is to isolate China”, adding that the country “must engage with China where necessary and be unflinchingly realistic about its authoritarianism”.

Yu said judging from the softer tone of both speeches, Sunak and Cleverly were on track to reset the country’s China policy agenda and reduce the influence of their hawkish backbenchers.

Cui agreed, saying: “Cleverly’s speech demonstrated both that he has the intention to increase exchanges with China and that there are still obstacles within Britain to doing so”.

Brian Davidson, British consul general to Hong Kong and Macau, said this week that London hoped for a new chapter in ties with Hong Kong, especially regarding trade and investment, and for difficult issues to be tackled through more honest behind-the-scenes discussions rather than megaphone diplomacy.

“Obviously, we have been through some difficult headwinds in the relationship over the past four or five years. I think we are looking to lean back into a constructive engagement to see where we can collaborate,” Davidson said.

Wang Yiwei, a Renmin University professor specialising in European studies, said Han’s visit might be different from his predecessor Wang Qishan’s visit to Britain for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September, where he had little contact with the short-serving prime minister Liz Truss, who had advocated a tough stance against China.

Wang noted that Britain’s economic performance was worse than that of other major Western countries, which had prompted a push – especially within the financial and business sectors – to fix the relationship with China.

“Britain’s competitiveness has been weakened the most by the impact of the Ukraine war, so they are more anxious than before to seize development opportunities in China to make up for it. China should take this chance, too.”