What Are the Parties’ Election Pledges on China?

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (L) with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (R) at the state opening of Parliament in Westminster, London, on Nov. 7, 2023. PA

With Labour’s manifesto published on Thursday, most national political parties have now revealed their plans for the country.

Here’s where they stand on China, the second largest economy which is increasingly seen as one of the top hostile states to liberal democracies.

Tories: Foreign Agents and Electric Vehicles

Having been in government for the past 14 years, the Conservative Party has the fullest record on China, presiding over a so-called golden era of Sino-British relations and a rapid deterioration of the relationship in recent years.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared in 2022 that the golden era was over, and that the UK would deal with the Chinese regime with “robust pragmatism.”

The party reversed its previous decision to allow China’s Huawei into the UK’s 5G network, tightened laws around espionage and influence campaigns, supply chain, and business takeovers, and ended government funding for Confucius Institutes.

However, critics have said the government still lacks a coherent China strategy and has acted too little too late around national security and human rights sanctions.

In its manifesto published on Wednesday, the Conservative Party pledged to include China, along with Russia and Iran, on the enhanced tier of the long-anticipated Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which is being designed by government officials.

The vows mean agents of these countries will have to declare almost all their activities, with limited exceptions such as cooking or building services for a diplomatic mission.

The party, which has said it would keep engaging with China on major global agendas such as climate and AI safety, also said it stands ready to protect the British car industry as it faces “unprecedented competition from China in the electric vehicles [EVs] market.”

It came on the same day as the European Union announced additional tariffs of up to 38.1 percent on EVs imported from China starting in July.

The bloc unveiled the rule after an eight-month investigation that found Chinese EVs benefit from “unfair subsidization,” which is causing “a threat of economic injury to EU battery electric vehicles producers,” according to European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas.

However, the tariff will apply to Chinese brands as well as Western brands that are made in China, such as Tesla, causing concerns that the policy may backfire.

Asked whether the UK plans to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs, the government said previously that industry had been advised they may apply for an investigation if they believe anti-dumping or anti-subsidy measures are needed.

According to a report published last week, the UK has been the number one destination in Europe for Chinese investments since 2000, but the trend has changed in recent years with a sharp decline in mergers, and as EV projects became dominant.

Labour: Full Audit

Labour took aim at the Tories in its manifesto, saying there was “14 years of damaging Conservative inconsistency over China.”

The party, which is the front runner according to polls, has pledged to conduct a full audit to “improve the UK’s capability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses,” and bring “a longterm and strategic approach” to managing the two countries’ relations.

However, without any specific promises, Labour’s “progressive realism” approach looks almost identical to Mr. Sunak’s “robust pragmatism.”

Previously outlining Labour’s foreign policy, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy has said he’s guided by “three C’s”: compete in some areas, challenge in others, and cooperate on issues such as climate and health.

Both of the two major parties have said they would pursue closer ties with allies to counter challenges and threats posed by the Chinese regime.

Lib Dems: BNO and Uyghur Genocide

The Liberal Democrats have focused on human rights in relation to China, promising to extend and improve the government’s BN(O) policies for Hongkongers and to declare the Chinese Communist Party has committed genocide against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

The party said it would extend integration funding for Hong Kong’s BN(O) passport holders who moved to the UK for the duration of the Parliament, and close gaps in the visa scheme.

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey arrives at Victoria Park Tennis in Newbury, Berkshire, on June 8, 2024. Will Durrant/PA

It also said it would recognise the human rights abuses being perpetrated against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang “amount to the crime of genocide.”

After a London-based people’s tribunal found evidence of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghur people, a number of legislatures around the world, including the UK Parliament, voted to call the human right abuses “genocide,” but the United States remains the only government to adopt the label.

The Lib Dems also said they would engage with democratic countries threatened by China, including Taiwan, and prevent states like China and Russia from “filling the vacuum that the UK has left in Africa and the rest of the Global South, following the Government’s short-sighted cut to the aid budget.”

Reform: Cut Foreign Aid and Scrap Net Zero

Reform UK, on the other hand, has said it intends to halve the UK’s foreign aid, saying money shouldn’t be spent on large economies such as China and India.

The party is yet to publish the final version of its manifesto, but a draft said a major review is needed into the effectiveness of overseas aid.

The party has not specified any other China policy in the draft, but it said net zero policies won’t stop climate change, and pledged to scrap them, which is an area in which both Labour and the Tories plan to cooperate with China.

Nigel Farage speaks to the driver of a van taking part in a protest against the ULEZ charge near the Houses of Parliament in London on March 25, 2024. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage, Reform’s leader, criticised ministers last week for courting Chinese fashion giant Shein, telling The Telegraph it’s a “very bad idea” to let the company list on the London Stock Market.

The Workers Party of Britain, whose leader George Galloway was elected to Parliament in February, said it would “oppose and disrupt any conscription of the working class for war with Russia or China.”

The Green Party made no reference to China in its manifesto. The party said it supports the principle behind mutual defence alliances such as NATO, but wants to see a great focus on outreach and dialogue.