David Cameron’s appointment as foreign secretary is being celebrated in Chinese state media for his “unique understanding” of the Sino-UK relationship.
The takeover of the Foreign Office by the former prime minister could “breathe new life into the China-UK relationship”, said Xi Jinping’s Communist Party-run Global Times in an opinion piece.
Mr Cameron’s appointment has put a spotlight on his previous foreign policy record, especially with regards to China.
He oversaw what was referred to as the “golden era” of closer relations with China during his time in No 10, and was famously pictured drinking beer with President Xi at an English pub in South Buckinghamshire during a state visit in 2015
But that era of closeness has been questioned amid growing reports of Chinese spying operations in the UK and across the West, with Rishi Sunak himself calling Mr Cameron’s policies “naive” in his first major foreign policy speech after coming to power last year.
“Let’s be clear, the so-called ‘golden era’ is over, along with the naive idea that trade would lead to social and political reform,” Mr Sunak had said.
“David Cameron’s appointment as Britain’s new foreign secretary has the potential to breathe new life into the China-UK relationship which has in recent years experienced some serious setbacks,” said the Global Times.
But it said “the continuous internal political fighting within the ruling Tory party” could also make him a target of critics who would use his policy on China to attack him.
“As a former British prime minister whose administration focused positively on fostering closer and mutually beneficial ties with Beijing, he is well positioned to engage with a country he came to comprehend well during his time in Downing Street,” it added.
The Chinese state media report said efforts to forge closer ties with London were cut short “partly due to the malign influence of Washington, which did not like an ally forming closer ties with China”.
The Global Times also criticised Mr Sunak for catering to the preferences of the hard-right faction within his political party by calling Beijing the "biggest long-term threat".
It suggested that “it would be good for the UK if London were to once again aspire to be Beijing’s partner”.
Mr Cameron has been under scrutiny over his role in the development of a China-funded port in Sri Lanka, a project that sparked concerns over Beijing’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
After leaving office Mr Cameron went on to become vice chair of a £1bn China-UK investment fund, which faced challenges in implementation due to escalating tensions.
His lobbying activities were in the spotlight after it emerged he had flown to the UAE to encourage investment in the Colombo Port City project – a part of Mr Xi’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
In July, the parliamentary intelligence and security committee raised concerns about whether Mr Cameron’s role was “in some part engineered by the Chinese state to lend credibility to Chinese investment, as well as to the broader China brand”.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith also questioned Mr Cameron‘s appointment, saying “it appears he’s being paid by the Chinese government to promote certain things”.
Speaking to GB News on Monday, the former Conservative party leader said he had “concerns” about Lord Cameron, before recalling how he himself was sanctioned by China in 2021 for what it said were “lies and disinformation” about alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
“I want to know how that is to be settled because we are under threat the whole time and we are members of the Parliament – a couple of people are in government – so this is a real question mark for me about what is that conflict and how is that to be settled?”
Luke de Pulford, executive director of the sinosceptic Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said it was an “incomprehensible, retrograde appointment” and described Lord Cameron as “out of step with Parliament and the country on China”.
The committee’s assessment indicated that successive governments, including Mr Cameron’s, had neglected to address the Beijing threat, prioritising economic interests over security concerns.
Mr Cameron would lead the foreign office amid rising incidents of confrontation involving Chinese vessels with others in the South China Sea and alarm over the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.
