UK’s ‘incoherent’ approach to China plagued by lack of expertise, report says

International alliance of China-sceptic legislators warns of risks inherent in misjudging bilateral relationship

The UK’s approach to China is “beset by incoherence” and plagued by a lack of senior expertise, according to a report warning of the risks inherent in misjudging the bilateral relationship.

“Successful UK engagement with China must always be framed by an understanding that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is an inherently hostile authoritarian state that does not share our values,” an underlined sentence in the audit, published on Wednesday, reads.

It cites the example of a visiting Chinese delegation who had noted that no one who engaged with Beijing at a senior level in government was a Mandarin speaker, or had significant experience of living in China.

In an endorsement, the former security minister Tom Tugendhat said the report was “a clear-eyed and realistic take on the defining foreign policy problem of this century, filling a gap left by years of policy neglect”.

The document offers several recommendations, including better institutional coordination, the strengthened use of national security tools, and diversification of supply chains.

The climate crisis is identified as a low-risk area for cooperation and alignment.

The Guardian has contacted the UK government and the Chinese embassy in London for comment.

However, he said, “the critical issue now is lived experience” in China.

“You can’t teach really important things in a classroom; you can only go and learn them through daily life … and that is the thing that is very difficult to do now, and it’s also the thing that doesn’t seem to be supported.”