London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 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
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×