Business and trade secretary says toughening rhetoric on China would be counterproductive
In interviews this morning, Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, refused to say whether she thought China should be banned from the international summit on regulating artificial intelligence that Rishi Sunak is hosting in November. “That’s a decision for the prime minister to take,” she said, when asked about the matter on Sky News.
Good morning. One of the many aspects of politics that has changed dramatically over the past decade is the way the government views China. David Cameron came to power determined to establish warm relations with Beijing, but in recent years relations have deteriorated considerably and a Conservative government that views China with considerable suspicion is being urged by some of its hawkish backbenchers to go much further, and to treat it as a hostile opponent.
