4HpqOOIbjMw Author: Li Guanjie opinion.huanqiu.com article Li Guanjie: For China, the UK has got the wrong direction /e3pmub6h5/e3pr9baf6 <article><section data type="rtext"><p>Recently, the UK started a wave of actions focused on China. The British intelligence agency said that dealing with China's "epoch-making challenge" was a top priority. The British police agency charged "spies" who provided services to the Hong Kong SAR government. The hacking of the British Ministry of Defence's payroll system was also suggested to be the Chinese side's act, and so on. People can't help asking why Britain frequently plays up the "China threat theory"? Where does today's Conservative government take Britain</ p> <p>First, the Conservative government is facing great election pressure, thinking that attacking China may be able to win some votes for itself. The British general election is likely to be held in the second half of this year, and the ruling Conservative Party faces the risk of losing due to the lack of outstanding political achievements. In the local elections in England and Wales in early May, the Conservative Party lost nearly half of its seats and fell to the third largest party. The British media generally believe that the Conservative Party has suffered the worst local election results in 40 years, which seems to indicate that the possibility of the Labour Party returning to power is becoming increasingly large. Several recent poll data also show that the Labour Party often leads the Conservative Party by 20 percentage points. In case of urgent illness, people will seek medical advice at random. In the view of the Conservative government, the downward trend of the domestic economy is difficult to reverse in the short term, so it turned to the security field. By exaggerating the sense of insecurity caused by foreign forces to the British society, it led the people to ignore the Conservative government's little work on economic and livelihood issues</ p> <p>Second, many British politicians have a more negative perception of China. Since this year, when European and American leaders and senior officials have visited China, the British government has so far done little in this regard. In August 2023, Cleverley, the then Foreign Secretary, visited China, which is the first visit to Beijing by the top British foreign affairs official since 2018. In the five years before that, great changes have taken place in China UK relations, and the exchange and interaction mechanisms have almost stagnated. The British government fell into a misunderstanding of China and constantly strengthened its malicious imagination of China. In the face of China's response to the truth, the British government turned a deaf ear and continued to go further and further on the road of wrong perception of China. In fact, the Conservative government did not know or understand China, and therefore lost the strategic vision of rational observation of the international situation</ p> <adv-loader __attr__inner="7004636" __attr__style="width: auto; position: relative;float: left;border: 1px solid #ebebeb; padding: 20px;overflow: hidden;margin: 10px 30px 40px 0; "></adv-loader> <p>Third, the implementation of the National Security Act of the United Kingdom has promoted its law enforcement agencies to focus on the so-called "destruction" of China against the United Kingdom. In July 2023, the National Security Act of the United Kingdom was passed and came into force, which listed "foreign intervention" as a criminal offence for the first time. The National Security Act of the UK is also another law that comprehensively reviews foreign forces in the UK since the National Security and Investment Act came into force in January 2022. One of the main targets of these two laws is considered to be China. Because China has a lot of investment and personnel in the UK, some British political elites believe that China must be on guard</ p> <p>Fourth, the British government is building a "small courtyard and high wall" in the field of ideology at home because the system is much less superior than before. At present, after the prophecy of "the end of history" failed to break, the institutional confidence of Britain and other European and American countries has declined rapidly. Many British politicians urged to give up the contact path of "promoting change through business" with China and advocate institutional competition instead. This practice of moving out the discourse of institutional competition can only show that many British political elites have been living in the illusion of "the system is still superior" for a long time. In order to continue this illusion, the British government began to build a "small courtyard and high wall", dreaming that "the British system will always be superior", and hit China, the presumed "institutional opponent"</ p> <p>Fifth, the UK still has the ambition to lead the world. It tries to create a confrontation between two camps to profit from it. In the view of some British political elites, the experience of winning the Cold War is still available. At this stage, we must "distinguish between ourselves and the enemy", so we have the thinking and action of "decoupling", "value differentiation", "security first", etc. The United Kingdom focuses on "value diplomacy" in the international community, trying to shape the confrontation between the "democratic camp" and the "authoritarian camp" to find the feeling of victory in the past. However, these British political elites understand that behind the camp confrontation is comprehensive strength, which at this stage is mainly reflected in the leadership of scientific and technological innovation. British Foreign Secretary Cameron recently said in a speech that today's world is more dangerous, more unstable and more confrontational. Britain should win in competition, cooperation and innovation. However, scientific and technological innovation can not be achieved in a short time, nor can it be achieved by building camp opposition</ p> <p>The British Conservative government plays up the "China threat" while building a confrontation situation of "two camps", trying to play a leading role in the process of profound changes in the world pattern and severe challenges faced by the international system. However, in fact, the biggest pressure facing the British government is not abroad, but at home; Not in China, but in the governance ability and responsibility of British politicians. The first priority for British politicians is to address the immediate concerns of the British people in a pragmatic manner. (The author is a think tank researcher of the British Research Center of the Shanghai Institute of Global Governance and Regional Country Studies, Shanghai International Studies University)</p></section></article> one trillion and seven hundred and fifteen billion nine hundred and sixty-eight million nine hundred and eighty-five thousand four hundred and sixty-one Copyrighted works of Globegroup are strictly prohibited from being reproduced or mirrored without written authorization. Violators will be investigated for legal responsibility. Editor in charge: Zhao Jiandong Global Times one trillion and seven hundred and fifteen billion nine hundred and eighty-six million two hundred and sixty-eight thousand five hundred and ten one one []