London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Ex-Foreign Office chief reveals Whitehall tussle over China policy

Ex-Foreign Office chief reveals Whitehall tussle over China policy

Simon McDonald says his former department and Cabinet Office are vying for control
A Whitehall battle for control of the UK’s China policy is under way between the Cabinet Office security directorate and the Foreign Office, a former senior diplomat has disclosed.

The disagreement, described by Simon McDonald as unresolved, will give ammunition to those who claim that the UK’s policy on China remains ambivalent despite the attempt to set out a balanced policy in the integrated foreign and security review published this week.

Speaking to the Lords international relations and defence committee, Lord McDonald said UK policy in 2010 was to view China “completely as an economic power and an economic possibility”, with no political implications, but this started to recalibrate in 2016 when Theresa May as prime minister highlighted security threats.

“The system is still grappling with how to organise policy overall in relation to China. There are two basic models and we have still not come down decisively in favour of one or the other, “ said McDonald, a former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office.

“One is to have a unit in the Cabinet Office national security directorate bringing everything in, and the other is to have the department which has most of the expertise, as the lead department, and for that department to have a unit pulling in necessary other expertise from other parts of Whitehall. That is something still to resolve.”

In seeking to own the UK’s China policy, he said, Foreign Office diplomats cite the example of the speed with which they assembled a policy towards Russia in the wake of Skripal poisoning by KGB agents in Salisbury in 2018.

Although Whitehall turf wars occur, it is rare for such uncertainty to cloud probably the biggest single foreign policy issue to face the UK, and it reflects a dispute between those who see China through a diplomatic or a security lens. A series of China experts including the former UK diplomat Prof Kerry Brown gave evidence to the same committee last month and argued that the UK did not have a China policy framework that balanced security risks with economic opportunity.

McDonald said the UK had been looking for a great leap forward in relations with China by providing financial services, but “frankly that has not happened and is not happening”. From his conversations with Chinese opposite numbers, he had come to the view that “China was not looking to British or western ways of organising their service sectors. They want to generate it as far as possible internally”.

But McDonald rejected suggestions that Britain should distance itself from China owing to its human rights record. “We are a trading country. China is the second largest economy in the world. I see no British prosperity without a trading relationship with China.”

Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary, speaking to the same committee, said: “There are many countries in the world with appalling human rights records with which we have had an economic relationship over many decades, and that has been a traditional position of the UK.”

He said a sense of western cohesion against China had been sadly lacking, and this had allowed China “to pick off or seek to bully individual nations”. He said Australia, for instance, received little more than rhetorical support when it demanded China allow an independent inquiry into the start of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

“The absolute key to this is a sense of common purpose across the west,” Lord Sedwill said. “If we try to do it separately, China’s sheer weight and ruthless use of its power will seek to divide and rule and play different countries off each other.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×