UK-CHINA RELATIONS HAVE NEVER BEEN AS IMPORTANT AS THEY ARE TODAY:AN INTERVIEW WITH THE RT HON LIAM BYRNE MP,SHADOW MINISTER FOR DIGITAL ECONOMY,UK

CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Interviewer: The 10th UK-China Leadership Forum was held on April 10th, 2018. Both China and the UK have sent high-level delegations to the Forum, illustrating the great importance they have attached to. What is your view on UK-China relations? How would you comment on the exchanges between the Communist Party of China (CPC)and parties in the UK, particularly the exchanges and cooperation in the fi eld of global and national governance between the CPC and Labour Party of the UK?

Liam Byrne: UK-China relations have never been as important as they are today. Around the world, populist pressures are mounting and countries that once celebrated the virtues of being open are now stepping back from the global economy. Both the UK and China share an interest in globalisation rolling forward. Ultimately that is the way we help economic growth to flourish and that’s the way we earn the resources to ensure our people live a good life. So the debate is no longer just about the way the UK and China draw closer together. We’ve got much to discuss about new ways to work together keeping the world economy open for business at a time when a new generation of leaders want to smash up the rules-based order which we have carefully created together. Obviously the Labour Party as the first government back in 1945 to recognise the People’s Republic of China wants to be at the forefront of these talks on the future.

Interviewer: The fi rst Yiwu-to-London freight train set off in 2017, opening up a new UK-China land trade route,reaching “the last mile” of the China-Europe Railway Express and extending the Belt and Road to the westernmost of Europe. Leaders of China and the UK have enhanced the political consensus on the Belt and Road Initiative and called for broader and deeper cooperation at higher levels, so as to fuel the regional and global economy. What role will the political parties play in synergizing China’s Belt and Road Initiative with the development strategy of your country?

Liam Byrne: The belt and road initiative is probably the most important geoeconomic initiative of the century.By 2030 the major economies of the silk Road will be 2 to 3 times the size of the Atlantic economies. That is why Europe is turning east. But to really win the prizes on offer politicians need to work through how we invest together in new infrastructure; how we finance that new infrastructure efficiently and in a way that’s sustainable; how we ensure great global standards characterise trade along the route; and how we invent new ways of resolving disputes in a way that is fair and efficient.

Britain learned over centuries of economic growth that the key to economic success is good institutions where trust is formed. Trust is the foundation of trade. So the UK and China are in a unique position to work together patiently building the new generation of institutions and investments that will insure the belt and road initiative is everything that could be. Today this initiative is not well understood in the west and so political leaders here in Britain are keen to understand more of how China’s leaders see practical policies developing.

Interviewer: Brexit is a historic event that alters the political and economic structure of Europe and has a profound impact on global landscape.How do you comment on the political, economic, social and civil impacts posed by Brexit on your country?Would you please brief us about the measures taken by the UK and the proposals made by the Labour Partyto absorb economic shocks and livelihood challenges posed by Brexit? How would the UK re-adjust its international status and diplomacy? What might be the impact on Brexit on China-UK relations?

On April 10, 2018, the 10th China-UK political party dialogue was held in Beijing. The picture shows Liam Byrne, MP of the British Labor Party, Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) (Digital Economy) and Former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, speaking.

Liam Byrne: Britain may have voted for Brexit but everyone in Britain still understands that we have a country make our living in the world. Free trade has long been a national religion in our country. So Britain will remain one of the most important voices calling for awhile but is open and the world in which prone to flourish. At home labour will argue that new investment is needed in the domestic infrastructure along with significant new investments in our education system. Ultimately the global race is today a science race and as the home of the scientific revolution we are determined to be a leader in that endeavour in the years to come.But Britain is a small place with a small population. And so the key to success in the 21st century will be our success in creating effective partnerships with our friends near and far. That is why I put it back Britain and China will draw ever closer together over the next 30 years.

Interviewer: Recently, the US President Trump and his Cabinet members have spoken out strongly for protectionist policies. During an interview on April 6th, President Trump said that he would start a trade war against China and the European Union was mentioned as well.An increased US protectionism is making the world worried, and no country would be spared in the long run. What is the UK’s view on Trump’s protectionism?How should all the stakeholders, including the European Union, react?

Liam Byrne: We have been partnered with the United States for centries and so we understand American politics well. America is a big market that is able to grow without lots of links to the outside world. But the world is a safer place and a richer place when the United States helps provide leadership.And so political leaders in the UK will be at the forefront of the argument without all ally encouraging them to do the right thing and to engage with the world not retreat from it.

When we look back over the last century, we know that the United States has often had isolationist moments. And the reality is that levels of inequality in America mean that the political pressure for protectionism is unlikely to go away any time soon. So we know that we have to help build ‘coalitions of the willing’ - of the nations which share the belief that globalisation must go on.

But we also believe, as the G20 agreed in Hangzhou in 2016, that policies for further globalisation must be accompanied by a new agenda for inclusive growth to ensure that the future is a place where everyone has a stake.

Interviewer: The CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting was held in Beijing in December, 2017. General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Mr. Xi Jinping attended the opening session and delivered a keynote speech, proposing that we should make explorations on building a new type of party-to-party relations featuring seeking common ground while shelving differences, mutual respect and mutual learning on the basis of a new type of international relations. General Secretary Xi also proposed that the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting be institutionalized,and called on the whole world to make joint efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind. How would you comment on this Dialogue? What are your suggestions on the promotion of a new type of party-to-party relations and the institutionalization of the Dialogue?

Liam Byrne: President Xi is right to say that party to party links need to be taken to a new level now. We are lucky that our dialogue has now moved well beyond the ceremonial to the practical and Political parties in China and the UK are now blessed with many leaders with lots of experience of working with each other. So we need to intensify the work which takes place between the big meetings and ensure that our think tanks and universities are developing work which is shared. We need to develop now a joint research agenda which helps ensure that the political dialogue grows richer and richer with ideas that can make a difference.