“Whether you like it or not, China is an indisputable fact of global economic life,” Rishi Sunak admitted this week in response to questions about his new foreign secretary, the former prime minister David Cameron. So what exactly have Cameron’s dealings with China been over the years – from Huawei to Port City Colombo – and might they yet get him in trouble?
It’s hard to forget the photograph of a jovial Xi Jinping in a British pub, smiling as he sipped on a pint of beer alongside then-Prime Minister David Cameron. And yet, for most, such a photocall seems like a lifetime away – an incongruous blast from the past when relations with China were in a better place
David Cameron stepped down as prime minister in 2016, and the period in between has seen China and the UK grow further and further apart – not least because of a deadly global pandemic.
But while China may have pulled away from the UK, Cameron has not pulled away from China. In fact, in the last few years, the former prime minister has been a key figure advocating for the world to engage more with the country.
As he returns as Britain’s foreign secretary, we recap how Cameron has been involved with China over the years and why.
Why was Cameron’s tenure as PM considered the “Golden Era” of UK-China Relations?
David Cameron’s time in the UK government between 2010 and 2016 has been referred to as the Golden Era of relations between the UK and China because he repeatedly emphasised mutual benefits in trade, investment and cultural exchanges between the two.
Cameron led several high-profile delegations to China to boost economic ties, including efforts to increase Chinese investment in the UK and to promote British exports to the Middle Kingdom.
Huawei
According to The Guardian, in September 2012, Cameron welcomed Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei to Downing Street for a ‘fireside chat’ after it was announced the company would invest an additional £1.3bn in the UK. However, international opinion of the controversial telecommunications firm has since shifted, and by 2020 Boris Johnson’s government had banned Huawei from Britain’s 5G mobile communications network entirely, ordering operators to remove the firm’s technology by 2027.
Hinkley Point C
Perhaps the most controversial project during David Cameron’s tenure as prime minister was the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. When Cameron’s government approved the participation of Chinese state-owned companies in the project – including CGN (China General Nuclear Power) and CNNC (China National Nuclear Corporation) – many weren’t happy about such critical infrastructure being part foreign-owned. Originally set to open this year, due to escalating costs and construction delays, the project still hasn’t been completed and is now scheduled to open in 2027.
The Silk Road Fund
In December 2017, 17 months after he gave his farewell address outside 10 Downing Street, it was announced that Cameron would head up a US$1 billion (£750 million) Chinese investment fund established to finance China’s BRI infrastructure projects. The state-endorsed fund didn’t involve taxpayers’ money, but rather was a joint endeavour by private financial institutions in both countries – and was lauded as a way to boost the UK’s global trade ties in a post-Brexit era.
A spokesman for Cameron said he was “very proud of his work launching the golden era between the UK and China with President Xi”, and that “in an effort to build on that work out of office, he wishes to play a role in the … fund that will invest in innovative and sustainable growth opportunities in both the UK and China to create jobs and further boost trade links.”
Though many criticised Cameron at the time, some still saw it as a smart move by the former prime minister. “The UK would have equal management powers in the new funds,” Bruno Maçães, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former Europe minister of Portugal, wrote in Foreign Policy at the time, adding that it would bring the country “close to becoming a junior partner in the most significant geopolitical initiative of the next 50 years.”
The Port City Colombo Project
The Port City Colombo is a multibillion-dollar building project in Sri Lanka touted as the sort of metropolis that could one day rival Singapore or Dubai. Due to be completed by 2040, the project is being managed by the CCCC (or China Communications Construction Company).
According to Politico, the US-sanctioned Chinese company has already spent US$1.4 billion on the project, and in return, obtained the right to use 62 hectares of land on a 99-year lease, raising concerns about “debt trap diplomacy” and fears it could serve as a military outpost for China in the future.
So, how is David Cameron involved? The now Foreign Secretary is on record promoting the project as a “sea of opportunity” that will help “[build] bridges and [bring] greater prosperity for all”. In January, he visited the site in person alongside the Sri Lankan prime minister and was photographed shaking hands with Yang Lu, the project’s Chinese managing director.
But it’s his on-stage appearance at an investment conference in the Middle East just two months ago in September that’s most recently raised eyebrows. Cameron was filmed engaging audiences with insights on trade and investment trends, in particular emphasising the significance of the Port City in transforming the global business landscape and downplaying an IMF report that criticised the project’s tax arrangements.
According to Politico, “Cameron was paid thousands of pounds to fly to the UAE to drum up investment in the project”, though it was KPMG Sri Lanka that footed the bill for his appearance, rather than any involved Chinese party.
What does David Cameron’s China ties mean for business?
Given his new role at the centre of government – and with many MPs concerned he should have been discouraging, not supporting, reliance on Chinese influence and debt – he is facing a grilling from Conservative and opposition colleagues alike and will be called in front of parliament in December to answer questions.
While many were keen to back Cameron’s gung-ho attitude to cooperation with China in the mid-2010s, today, the political landscape is vastly different. Not only will Britain’s new foreign minister have his work cut out in the new climate, but so will foreign businesses forced to defend their own support for trade with the country as the furore grows louder.
Lead image sourced from @bbcnews on Instagram
