UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will claim isolating China is a “betrayal” of the national interest in a speech setting out the government’s position on Beijing.
Mr Cleverly will tell those at the Lord Mayor’s Easter Banquet in London that the UK must engage directly with China to promote stability.
He is set to deny China should be classed as a “threat”, because its scale and complexity cannot be reduced to one-word descriptions.
Mr Cleverly will break from tradition by dedicating the speech — in which foreign secretaries typically set out their views on a broad range of foreign policy issues — entirely to talk of Beijing.
“No significant global problem, from climate change to pandemic prevention, from economic stability to nuclear proliferation, can be solved without China,” he will say at the event on Tuesday, according to excerpts of his speech that were released early.
“To give up on China would be to give up on addressing humanity’s biggest problems.
“It would be clear and easy, perhaps even satisfying, for me to declare a new Cold War and say that our goal is to isolate China.
“Clear, easy, satisfying — and wrong. Because it would be a betrayal of our national interest and a wilful misunderstanding of the modern world.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said that while the speech would push for constructive engagement with Beijing, the UK must be realistic about its authoritarianism.
“We do not expect our disagreements with China to be swiftly overcome, but we do expect China to observe the laws and obligations that it has freely accepted,” Mr Cleverly will say.
“Peaceful coexistence has to begin with respecting fundamental laws and institutions, including the UN Charter, which protects every country against invasion.”
Mr Cleverly will say the UK’s “multifaceted” approach must strengthen national security protection whenever Beijing poses a threat, deepen co-operation with allies in the Indo-Pacific region to uphold international law, and engage directly with China.
He will also urge China to be transparent about its military expansion, saying the UK is “prepared to be open about our presence in the Indo-Pacific” and encouraging China to be “equally open”.
“Secrecy can only increase the risk of tragic miscalculation,” Mr Cleverly will say.
The speech will criticise Chinese “repression” and pledge that the UK will continue to highlight the situation involving the Uighur people.
Mr Cleverly is understood to want to visit China after warning that the UK should not “pull the shutters down” on Beijing.
His comments could anger Tory backbenchers, many of whom hold a more aggressive stance on Beijing and have voiced concerns about possible appeasement.
Former prime minister Liz Truss urged ministers to ensure Beijing could never join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc — concerns that were echoed by former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
Ms Truss had been expected to designate China as a “threat” during her short-lived leadership, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has instead described the nation as a “systemic challenge”.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE SPECS
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
THE SPECS
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Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
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