China carrying out biggest military build-up in peacetime history, says James Cleverly
Cleverly warns that if Beijing invaded Taiwan, it would destroy world trade

James Cleverly has said that failing to engage with China would be a āsign of weaknessā in a speech setting out the governmentās position on Beijing.
The foreign secretary said the UK must engage directly with the country in order to promote stability in a keynote address to the Lord Mayorās Easter Banquet in London on Tuesday.
But he also said the UK must be āunflinchingly realisticā about Beijingās authoritarianism, as he warned it against invading Taiwan.
They represent a ruthless authoritarian tradition utterly at odds with our own
Mr Cleverly denied China should be classed as a āthreatā, arguing its scale and complexity cannot be reduced to one-word descriptions.
He broke from tradition by dedicating the speech ā which foreign secretaries typically use to set out their views on a broad range of foreign policy issues ā entirely to talk of Beijing.
He said: āThis government will advance British interests directly with China, alongside our allies, while steadfastly defending our national security and our values.
āWe can expect profound disagreements. Dealing with China ā I can assure you ā is not for the fainthearted; they represent a ruthless authoritarian tradition utterly at odds with our own.
āBut we have an obligation to future generations to engage because otherwise weād be failing in our duty to sustain ā and shape ā the international order.
āShirking that challenge would be a sign not of strength, but of weakness.ā
No significant global problem ā from climate change to pandemic prevention, from economic stability to nuclear proliferation ā can be solved without China, he argued.
The foreign secretary said the UK āwill always be torn between our national interest in dealing with China and our abhorrence of Beijingās abusesā.
The speech condemned Chinese repression and pledged that the UK will continue to highlight the suffering of the Uyghur people, branding the mass incarceration in Xinjiang a ā21st century version of the gulag archipelagoā.
āSo our policy has to combine two currents: we must engage with China where necessary and be unflinchingly realistic about its authoritarianism,ā he said.
āAnd that means never wavering from one clear principle. We do not expect our disagreements with China to be swiftly overcome, but we do expect China to observe the laws and obligations that it has freely entered into.ā
Mr Cleverly also warned that if China invaded Taiwan, it would ādestroy world trade worth 2.6 trillion dollarsā.
He said: āI shudder to contemplate the human and financial ruin that would follow. So it is essential that no party takes unilateral action to change the status quo.ā
He urged Beijing to be transparent about its military expansion, as it is ācarrying out the biggest military build-up in peacetime historyā.
Mr Cleverly argued the UKās āmultifacetedā approach must be three-pronged: first to strengthen national security protections whenever Beijing poses a threat; second to deepen cooperation with allies in the Indo-Pacific region to uphold international law, and third to engage directly with China.
The Foreign Secretary is understood to want to visit China afterĀ warning that the UK should not āpull the shutters downā on the country.
His comments could anger Tory backbenchers, many of whom hold a more aggressive stance on Beijing and have voiced concerns about possible appeasement.
It comes after former prime minister Liz Truss urged ministers to ensure Beijing can never join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc ā concerns which were echoed by former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
Ms Truss had been expected to designateĀ ChinaĀ as a āthreatā during her short-lived leadership, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has instead described the nation as a āsystemic challengeā.