{"id":8569,"date":"2021-09-18T07:00:22","date_gmt":"2021-09-18T07:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=8569"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:50:19","slug":"how-the-cabinet-re-shuffle-might-affect-the-uks-engagement-with-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/how-the-cabinet-re-shuffle-might-affect-the-uks-engagement-with-china\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Cabinet Re-Shuffle Might Affect the UK\u2019s Engagement with China"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Prime Minister has appointed the Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss as Foreign Secretary, meaning that there\u2019s a new top team in government handling the UK\u2019s political-economic relationship with China; the former Secretary of State for International Development, the Rt Hon\u00a0Anne-Marie Trevelyan,\u00a0moves to head up to the Department for International Trade<\/h2>\n

Ms Truss has become the UK\u2019s second female foreign secretary, following Labour\u2019s Margaret Beckett 15 years ago. Her appointment means that women now hold the three most senior roles from the British government\u2019s side in UK-China relations; Dame Caroline Wilson<\/a> is the current British Ambassador in Beijing.<\/p>\n

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The new Secretary of State has plenty of diplomatic experience under her belt, especially in and around the Asia-Pacific region, having led negotiations with Japan over the UK-Japan Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and in preparing the UK to accede to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).\u00a0With regard to\u00a0how she\u00a0might\u00a0bring this experience to her new role,\u00a0The Times is not alone in highlighting Ms\u00a0Truss\u2019 belief that \u201ceconomic diplomacy\u201d is the best way for the UK to thrive outside of the European Union.<\/p>\n

How her conviction in \u201ceconomic diplomacy\u201d will find application in China is unclear. When commentating on China\u2019s trade practices as Secretary of State for International Trade, Ms Truss took a hard line on China, telling parliament\u2019s International Trade Committee<\/a> in May that \u201c[The UK and its allies] have been too soft on China\u2019s unfair trade practices for too long.\u201d<\/p>\n