Britain should maintain influence through partnerships with up-and-coming states, foreign secretary to say

James Cleverly risks controversy by arguing that new relationships could be backed up by aid

Britain should maintain its influence around the world by making lasting partnerships with up-and-coming states across Latin America, Asia and Africa, the foreign secretary will argue in his first major speech.

James Cleverly, who campaigned for Brexit in 2016, will say the UK is ready to make “investments of faith” in non-traditional allies as part of a long-term foreign policy designed to last for decades.

But he risks inflaming the row over the correct use of foreign aid by suggesting it could help develop those relationships, alongside trade and closer cultural ties.

The speech on Monday will come two weeks after Rishi Sunak promised to set a new direction for the UK, warning that the “golden era” of relations with China was over and would be replaced by “robust pragmatism” in standing up to global competitors.

It also comes amid the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Mr Cleverly, who was first made foreign secretary in September by Liz Truss and kept the job under Mr Sunak, is expected to mention China but will largely focus on the future and the need to retain UK influence.

He is expected to say that in coming decades more of the world’s economy and power “will be in the hands of nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America”.

He will add: “We will show strategic endurance, willing to commit for the long term. I want our foreign policy to be constantly planning for tomorrow, scanning the horizon, looking 10, 15 and 20 years ahead.”

He will also argue that the new partnerships the UK forges should cover trade, development, defence, cybersecurity and climate change.

But the foreign secretary will also highlight the benefits of maintaining our existing solid relationships.

Foreign policy is seen as a tricky subject for the new prime minister, who is widely viewed as more at home with domestic economic issues than on the world stage.

His comments on China followed intense pressure from within his own party to toughen his stance on the issue, after the country’s decision to sanction a number of British politicians, including former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.

Mr Duncan Smith has been vocal in speaking out against what he has described as the “genocide” of Uighurs, one of China’s largest ethnic minority groups.