How to trade with China?

This was always going to be a difficult moment. As the political scientist Graham Allison once neatly explained, throughout history the arrival of a rising geopolitical power often sets the stage for war.

But, war is not inevitable and the principal task of wise leaders is to preserve the peace. For Britain to play its role, this requires us to master a game of 5-D chess – of co-operation and challenge, de-risking and deterrence, plus a wiser strategy for international development across Africa and the Indo-Pacific, because this is a long game best played with allies, both old and new.

In this new piece for the think-tank Civitas, I propose a way to both growh and e-risk trade with the world's largest economy. Call it ‘the three defences’;

• A far tougher approach to fair competition;

• A transformation of economic security policy; and

• A new strategy for enhancing alliances with the EU, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific.

  
  

To coordinate this we need a new Office of Economic Statecraft to sort out the intelligence, economic models and plans for economic resilience needed for the perceptive relationship with China to provides both security to our country while supplying the confidence to our traders and entrepreneurs to take the risks that all traders and entrepreneurs must take if they are to succeed.

I've attached the essay to this blog.

Byrne.pdf

Download PDF • 74KB