Labour's softening stance towards China reinforced by dropped spy case

"Once, before the election, Labour's approach to China was forthright. The party promised to declare China's systematic repression of its Uyghur Muslim minority as a genocide. Its MPs united to support a genocide amendment to a 2021 trade bill, voting with Tory rebels and only failing to defeat Boris Johnson's government by 11 votes. But in the past week recriminations have swirled after the prosecution of two Britons accused of spying for China was dropped."

"A refusal by the government to describe China as a national security threat has reinforced Labour's already softened approach to Beijing and sharpened focus on the figure at its heart: Keir Starmer's national security adviser, Jonathan Powell. Critics say Labour is hastily pursuing a return to the golden era rapprochement led by David Cameron in 2015, when China's president, Xi Jinping, came on a state visit and Beijing was given approval to build nuclear power stations in the UK."

Labour initially promised to declare China's repression of its Uyghur Muslim minority a genocide and MPs backed a genocide amendment to a 2021 trade bill, failing by a narrow parliamentary margin. Recently, recriminations followed the dropping of charges against two Britons accused of spying for China. A government refusal to describe China as a national security threat coincided with Labour softening its stance and intensified scrutiny of Keir Starmer's national security adviser, Jonathan Powell. Critics warn of a return to the David Cameron-era rapprochement after Xi Jinping's 2015 state visit and UK nuclear deals. China crushed Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and conducted cyber espionage against British targets.

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