China threatened to cancel high-level trade talks with the UK earlier this year over a government minister’s visit to Taiwan, the Guardian can disclose.
Beijing told the British government it would pull its first trade and economic dialogue with the UK in seven years after Douglas Alexander, then a trade minister, travelled to Taipei in late June.
The engagement threatened to scupper the UK-China trade and economic commission (Jetco), which ultimately did go ahead after diplomats privately scrambled to contain the diplomatic fallout with Beijing.
Peter Kyle flew to China for the meeting in early September, days after he was appointed business and trade secretary.
China’s threat to cancel the talks, according to two well-placed UK sources briefed on the discussions, came after Alexander visited Taipei on 29 and 30 June and met the Taiwanese president, Lai Ching-te.
During the visit, which received little media attention in the UK, Alexander, now secretary of state for Scotland, held talks with his Taiwanese counterpart, Cynthia Kiang, and pledged to boost trade in key sectors.
Beijing is extremely sensitive about other countries’ engagement with Taiwan, which it views as a breakaway province that will eventually come under its control. There are fears it will eventually try to annex the island by force.
map of the 12 countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan
Taiwan has never been ruled by the People’s Republic of China and has its own constitution. Its population has grown increasingly opposed to China’s claims of sovereignty over it, electing a succession of leaders who have pledged to uphold its self-governing status.
The Guardian disclosed last year that the Foreign Office had intervened to postpone a planned visit by the former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen because it coincided with David Lammy’s first trip to China as foreign secretary.
The Chinese government strongly condemned a visit to Taiwan by a Labour party parliamentary delegation in the spring of 2024, while the party was still in opposition.
The UK does not recognise Taiwan as a country but has a longstanding unofficial relationship with its government, including via ministerial talks, which have been held since 1991. Bilateral trade between the UK and Taiwan was worth £9.3bn last year.
British warships have taken part in operations in the waters around Taiwan in recent years, which has angered China.
Meanwhile ministers have come under pressure from opposition parties and campaigners over their diplomatic rapprochement with Beijing.
The government is preparing to approve controversial plans to build a Chinese super-embassy near Tower Bridge in London after receiving the green light from the security services. Keir Starmer is planning to travel to Beijing for his first bilateral visit in late January.
Critics have argued that the embassy presents a security risk. UK intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned of large-scale Chinese espionage targeting government, industry and academia.
Downing Street has argued that consolidating all of China’s diplomatic presence in London into one building will have a security benefit.
A government spokesperson said: “We continue to engage with China in areas of trade that benefit our national interests. Our longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed and this visit was within the expected and longstanding bounds of our relationship.
“We continue to explore a range of opportunities to further enhance our trade relations and support economic growth as part of our objective to strengthen bilateral trade and investment between the UK and Taiwan.”
The business department said the Jetco talks that took place in September would help secure £1bn in market access deals for the UK over five years.
It was the first set of such talks since 2018, when diplomatic relations with China began to deteriorate and dialogue became more difficult because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
