With the fifth anniversary of the China-Britain Comprehensive Strategic Partnership approaching, it is remarkable to see how dramatically this much-heralded “golden era” of relations has turned into one of deepening mistrust and bitter acrimony.
In the past few weeks, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has banned Huawei from involvement in Britain’s 5G networks, suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extended its China arms embargo to the city. In light of these developments, the strategic partnership’s lofty aspirations of “enduring, inclusive and win-win cooperation” with “close high-level exchanges” and “deeper political trust” sound like a hollow statement of intent.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST.