When Boris Johnson became mayor of London, he abolished London’s representative office in Beijing with a stroke of the pen, loftily pronouncing it a “waste of money”. In October 2013, still mayor of London, Johnson joined a six-day trade mission to China where he articulated the opposite view with equal confidence. China’s economic growth, he said, was spectacular “and the opportunities that this presents for London are huge”.
It may not come as a surprise that serious, and informed, views on China are not Johnson’s strong suit. But what does get his attention are the views of his own back bench. It can be anticipated that his erratic position is about to change again: having surfed the Brexit referendum on the promise of fresh opportunities in Asia – and China in particular – Johnson is now preparing a U-turn that will lead to restrictions on Chinese investment in the UK and the cancellation of the contentious, high-profile promise to admit the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to the UK’s 5G network. Other critical infrastructure investments, in particular in nuclear power, could be in doubt. Reciprocal opportunities for the UK in China, which have never been as big as the Brexiteers suggested, are shrinking by the day.
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