https://www.hongkongwatch.org/all-posts/2024/9/24/no-lord-mandelson-we-dont-need-to-cosy-up-to-xis-china-benedict-rogers
彼得·曼德尔森本周对中国政策的干预是极其错误的——而且可能非常危险。
在访问香港期间，曼德尔森勋爵会见了政府官员、顶级商人和银行家，并在香港大学发表演讲，他声称香港的法治和司法独立完好无损，并指责前保守党政府发起对香港的“抵制”，未能与北京维持“适当的沟通渠道”。他说，新工党政府希望“重建英国与中国过去进行的战略对话”，因为“多年来两国关系一直非常糟糕，不断恶化”，并补充说，现在是两国“停止互相诋毁”的时候了。这听起来与戴维·卡梅伦政府追求的所谓中英关系“黄金时代”非常接近，而这个时代当然是由曼德尔森勋爵开创的。
人们不禁要问：曼德尔森勋爵生活在哪个星球上？
让我们按相反的顺序逐一讨论这些观点。
首先，近年来两国关系恶化的原因是，以习近平为首的现任中国共产党政权的行为越来越好战、好斗、压制和侵略性。
尤其是过去五年来，习近平政权被美国前任和现任政府、包括我国在内的世界各国议会以及由起诉斯洛博丹·米洛舍维奇的律师杰弗里·尼斯爵士主持的独立法庭指控对维吾尔族实施种族灭绝。
它撕毁了香港承诺的自由、人权、法治和自治，并撕毁了国际条约《中英联合声明》。
它加强了对异见人士的镇压和对中国各地宗教的打压，包括对良心犯进行强制器官摘取的野蛮做法。
北京在西藏的暴行仍在继续，据透露，至少有一百万藏族儿童被强行从家人身边带走，进入殖民寄宿学校，禁止他们学习藏语、修行藏传佛教或生活在藏族文化中。但当然，曼德尔森勋爵长期以来一直对西藏漠不关心。
中国对台湾的侵略愈演愈烈，其通过间谍、渗透、影响行动和恐吓活动对我们国家安全的威胁也日益增加。
我们不要忘记，中共对向世界释放新冠疫情负有责任，这场疫情摧毁了数亿人的生命和生计，因为它不负责任地撒谎、掩盖事实并镇压举报人。
因此，两国关系恶化是有充分理由的，责任在北京，而不是伦敦。在曼德尔森勋爵看来，这是在“抹黑”，但这实际上只是在指出事实。
让我们来看看他的第二项指控：前保守党政府“有抵制香港的危险”。这绝对是谎言——完全没有必要将一直得到广泛跨党派支持的问题政治化。
上届政府做了一件值得称赞的事情，那就是推出英国国民海外居留权 (BNO) 计划。这为数百万香港人逃离香港、在英国建立自由新生活提供了一条途径。
该计划由鲍里斯·约翰逊和多米尼克·拉布在北京对香港实施新的、严厉的国家安全法的第二天宣布，该法摧毁了香港的自由，并得到了普丽蒂·帕特尔的支持和实施。在上一任香港总督彭定康勋爵和奥尔顿勋爵的大力倡导下，该计划的资格进一步扩大，彭定康勋爵和奥尔顿勋爵都是我共同创立的组织香港观察的赞助人，上一届政府应该为他们为香港人提供未来而采取的措施而受到赞扬。
但不要怀疑：该计划得到了所有政党和议会两院的大力支持。
此外，当时反对党工党也积极推动政府进一步加强对中国人权的保护。大卫·拉米、凯瑟琳·韦斯特、斯蒂芬·金诺克、科林斯勋爵和其他许多工党议员，包括前排和后排议员，以及自由民主党、苏格兰民族党和其他政党的朋友，都支持上届政府。拉米表示，如果他执政，他将呼吁对维吾尔人进行种族灭绝——这是他众多承诺之一
在过去两个月里，新政府的态度发生了 180 度大转变。
上届政府非但没有“抵制”香港，反而拒绝对北京违反《中英联合声明》的行为实施任何制裁，反而派了至少两名部长——当时的贸易部长多米尼克·约翰逊勋爵和外交部长安妮·玛丽·特里维廉——前往香港。虽然他们可能对人权问题发表了陈词滥调，但两次访问的重点都是增加贸易。外交大臣詹姆斯·克莱弗利也出于同样的目的访问了北京，并大肆宣传——或者至少在推特上大肆传播。
中国和香港的人权问题不是——也不应该——政党政治问题。我对上一届政府有批评，对现任政府的做法有担忧。但我也有很多朋友与我持同样的看法。曼德尔森勋爵试图利用这个问题来打击保守党，并以此作为分裂两党的武器，这是邪恶的。
最后，对于他声称香港的法治和司法独立仍然完好无损的荒谬说法，我只想说三点。
首先，请阅读萨姆普森勋爵的这篇文章，他最终决定不再担任香港法院法官。他说：“香港曾经是一个充满活力、政治多元化的社会，现在正逐渐成为一个极权国家。在政府强烈关注的任何领域，法治都受到了严重损害。”
其次，请关注我的朋友黎智英的案例，这位 76 岁的英国公民和媒体企业家因多项莫须有的罪名被监禁三年半以上，其中包括因在纪念 1989 年天安门广场大屠杀的和平守夜活动中点燃蜡烛和祈祷而服刑 13 个月。
正如我本周早些时候所写，据报道，黎先生是一名虔诚的天主教徒，自去年 12 月以来一直被剥夺圣餐，每天被单独监禁超过 23 个小时，被剥夺独立医疗服务，并且很少有机会与人接触或晒太阳。正如他的国际法律团队在 Doughty Street Chambers（首相 Keir Starmer KC 爵士的执业地点）昨天在联合国所说，黎先生继续被任意拘留引起了严重关切。
黎先生仍在根据《国家安全法》接受审判，可能面临终身监禁。包括我在内的几名外国人被列为他在审判中的合作者。尽管中国问题议会联盟 (IPAC) 的议员们提出呼吁，但我们中没有人被传唤出庭作证。黎先生的整个审判都是对正义的嘲弄，尤其是他被剥夺了首选法律顾问的权利。这是什么样的法治或司法独立？
第三，看看其他大量案件。47 名前民选立法会议员和活动人士因举行初选而被捕，而初选本应是香港立法会选举；《立场新闻》编辑上个月被判煽动叛乱罪；2021 年，香港政??府打压新闻自由，关闭黎智英的《苹果日报》；在今天的香港，如果你穿了一件特定颜色的 T 恤或唱了一首特定的歌，你就会被逮捕和监禁——曼德尔森勋爵，这是什么样的法治？
这位前英国首席大臣、贸易大臣和欧盟贸易大臣向那些相信人权和民主的人遮羞布，说他确实认为香港当局应该“轻视人们的生命”。告诉黎智英。告诉《立场新闻》的编辑们。告诉今天香港监狱里的数百名政治犯。曼德尔森勋爵，你能做得更好。
几乎没有人会质疑我们必须与北京对话。我当然不主张脱离接触。但对我来说，问题不是是否要接触，而是如何接触，我确信，通过卑躬屈膝、淡化、否认、破坏或放弃我们的价值观，或者通过掩盖我们的分歧，我们不会取得任何成就。虽然他们可能不喜欢，但如果我们坚持自己的信仰，而不是——正如美国老牌商人詹姆斯·麦格雷戈近十年前所说的那样——“像一只喘着粗气的小狗一样”，中共会更加尊重我们。
其他失败的政客也试图与北京搞好关系。想想文斯·凯布尔。想想乔治·奥斯本。但曼德尔森勋爵的干预之所以危险，是因为他得到了新首相的倾听，并被誉为英国驻美国大使或牛津大学校长的候选人。如果他继续像一只“喘气的小狗”一样对待中国，他应该被取消担任这两个职位的资格，只能在场外大喊大叫。他对中国政策问题的分析和党派偏见深深地损害了他的声誉，危及我们的国家最终的兴趣和价值观。
英国首相抨击保守党抵制香港，敦促与中国缓和关系
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/international/2024/09/17/uk-peer-slams-tory-boycott-of-hong-kong-urges-thaw-with-china/
Rebecca Choong Wilkins 和 David Ingles 2024 年 9 月 17 日
Peter Mandelson（Paul Miller/Bloomberg）
（彭博社）——英国工党资深人士 Peter Mandelson 指责前保守党政府未能维持与中国的“适当沟通渠道”，没有履行英国在香港的责任。
这位前英国贸易大臣在四年多来首次访问亚洲金融中心期间接受采访时表示：“英国面临着抵制香港的危险，英国需要与中国保持必要的沟通。”“这就是新政府上台后将发生的变化。”
这位工党贵族是首相基尔·斯塔默的亲密顾问，后者在 7 月带领工党在选举中取得压倒性胜利。曼德尔森还是 Global Counsel 的联合创始人，该公司已成为英国最具影响力的咨询集团之一，并一直在扩大对中国的报道。
2015 年，时任首相戴维·卡梅伦在任时宣称英国与北京的关系进入了“黄金时代”，此后，英国与中国的关系急剧恶化。
2021 年，保守党阻止华为技术有限公司参与英国的 5G 网络，最近又因间谍指控与中国官员发生口角。
香港
曼德尔森是托尼·布莱尔领导的上一届工党政府中的一位有影响力的人物，自 2008 年以来一直担任上议院议员，此次访问期间，他与香港官员、顶级商人和银行家会面。他说，今年早些时候，香港政府成员在访问伦敦期间遭到内阁大臣的“冷遇”，这让他感到震惊。
“这严重侵犯了英国在香港的角色和责任，”他说。
这个前英国殖民地因取消许多曾让香港有别于大陆的自由而受到西方政府的批评。本月早些时候，美国发布了一份警告，警告在香港经营的企业可能会违反新的国家安全法——香港政府驳斥了这一声明，称其“误导和不实”。
曼德尔森表示，他相信香港的法治仍然完好，司法机构仍然独立，但他敦促政府“非常小心”，不要朝着批评者批评的方向发展。
“我强烈认为，香港当局必须谨慎对待人民的生命，”他说。
重新与中国接触
这位前欧盟贸易专员表示，英国政府计划在全面审查双边关系后重新与中国接触，包括恢复官员之间的正式会晤。自上任以来，斯塔默尚未明确对世界第二大经济体中国采取的正式战略。
在一次被视为为两国政府重启关系奠定基础的电话通话中，斯塔默上个月告诉中国国家主席习近平，他希望就包括香港问题在内的分歧领域进行“坦诚、开放和诚实”的会谈。首相还提到，俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争和人权问题是英国希望与中国解决的问题。
新工党政府还在制定经济议程，为包括电动汽车在内的关键行业制定“战略”。这可能有助于了解该国对中国电动汽车进口的立场，欧盟和美国正在对这一行业征收关税。
曼德尔森表示，英国政府“希望随着时间的推移，重建英国过去与中国进行的战略对话”。近年来，一些此类论坛已经停止，包括自 2019 年以来一直未举行的中英经济财金对话。
曼德尔森还对可能陷入紧张局势的公司发出警告。
“你可以在美国和中国经济中经营你的业务，但不可避免地你必须注意这样做的任何下行风险，”他说。“归根结底，所有国家的政府都应该允许企业开展业务。”
错误转向
曼德尔森表示，英国重新与中国接触的条件是北京谴责俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争。在回答一个问题时，他同意这是改善关系的最低要求，并批评中国在与俄罗斯结盟问题上“错误转向”。
“坦率地说，这就像一片乌云笼罩着中国与整个欧洲的关系，”他说。“我们希望看到中国对这场冲突采取更负责任的态度。”
尽管 2022 年发生了入侵事件，但中国仍与克里姆林宫建立了伙伴关系，寻求将自己描绘成一个可以帮助结束战争的中立参与者。
曼德尔森表示，北京应该利用其在国际体系中的影响力和“首要地位”，促使俄罗斯撤出乌克兰，并达成两国和解。
“中国不能一边抱怨领土完整受到威胁，一边又对俄罗斯武力改变乌克兰边界袖手旁观，”他说。“这是一种双重标准和虚伪，这对中国不利。”
'No, Lord Mandelson, we don’t need to cosy up to Xi’s China', Benedict Rogers
https://www.hongkongwatch.org/all-posts/2024/9/24/no-lord-mandelson-we-dont-need-to-cosy-up-to-xis-china-benedict-rogers
Peter Mandelson’s intervention on China policy this week is profoundly wrong – and potentially very dangerous.
During a visit to Hong Kong in which he met government officials, top businessmen and bankers, and gave a speech at the University of Hong Kong, Lord Mandelson claimed that the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in the city are intact and he blamed the previous Conservative government for initiating a ‘boycott’ of Hong Kong and failing to sustain ‘proper channels of communication’ with Beijing. He said that the new Labour government wished to ‘recreate the strategic dialogue that Britain has had with China in the past’, after ‘many years of a very poor, deteriorating relationship’, adding that it was time for both countries to ‘stop throwing mud’ at each other. That sounds perilously close to the failed so-called ‘golden era’ of Sino-British relations pursued by David Cameron’s government – which of course was first started by Lord Mandelson.
One has to ask: what planet is Lord Mandelson living on?
Let’s take these points one by one, in reverse order.
First, the reason the relationship has deteriorated in recent years is because of the increasingly belligerent, bellicose, repressive and aggressive behaviour of the current Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime in Beijing, led by Xi Jinping.
Over the past five years particularly, Xi’s regime has been credibly accused of genocide against the Uyghurs by both the previous and current US administrations, several parliaments around the world including our own, and an independent tribunal chaired by the lawyer who prosecuted Slobodan Milosevic, Sir Geoffrey Nice KC.
It has dismantled Hong Kong’s promised freedoms, human rights, the rule of law and autonomy, ripping up an international treaty, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, in the process.
It has intensified its repression of dissent and its crackdown on religion across China, including the barbaric practice of forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience.
Beijing’s atrocities in Tibet have continued, with revelations that at least a million Tibetan children have been coercively separated from their families into colonial boarding schools which prohibit them from learning Tibetan language, practising Tibetan Buddhism or living their Tibetan culture. But of course, Lord Mandelson has long shown a disregard for Tibet.
China’s aggression towards Taiwan has intensified and its threats to our national security through espionage, infiltration, influence operations and intimidation campaigns have increased.
And let’s not forget the CCP’s responsibility for unleashing upon the world the Covid-19 pandemic that destroyed hundreds of millions of lives and livelihoods, through its irresponsible lies, cover-ups and repression of whistleblowers.
So there are good reasons relations deteriorated, and the blame lies in Beijing not in London. In Lord Mandelson’s view this is ‘throwing mud’, but it is really simply pointing out the facts.
Let’s turn to his second allegation: that the previous Conservative government was ‘in danger of operating a boycott of Hong Kong’. That is an absolute lie – and totally unnecessarily politicises what has always been an issue that has commanded broad cross-party support.
The last government did one thing for which it deserves great credit, and that was the introduction of the British National Overseas (BNO) scheme. This provided a pathway for potentially several million Hong Kongers to flee Hong Kong and build a new life in freedom in the United Kingdom.
That scheme was announced by Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab the day after the imposition by Beijing of a new, draconian National Security Law upon Hong Kong which destroyed the city’s freedoms, and it was championed and implemented by Priti Patel. Eligibility for the scheme was further extended, after much advocacy from the last Governor of Hong Kong Lord Patten and Lord Alton, both Patrons of the organisation I co-founded, Hong Kong Watch, and the last government should be applauded for the measures they took to offer Hong Kongers a future.
But don’t be in any doubt: that scheme drew enormous support from across all parties and both Houses of Parliament.
Moreover, the Labour Party in opposition were vocal in pushing the government at the time to go further and to be more robust on human rights in China. David Lammy, Catherine West, Stephen Kinnock, Lord Collins and plenty of other Labour Parliamentarians, frontbench and backbench, as well as friends from the Liberal Democrats, Scottish Nationalists and other parties were allies in the effort to put some spine into the back of the last government. Lammy said he would call out the genocide of the Uyghurs if in government – one of the many promises the new government has u-turned on in the past two months.
Far from operating a ‘boycott’ of Hong Kong, the last government refused to implement any sanctions in response to Beijing’s breaches of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and instead sent at least two ministers – the then Trade Minister Lord (Dominic) Johnson and Foreign Office Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan – to the city. While they may have made platitudinal remarks about human rights, the focus of both visits was increasing trade. And the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly made a much-trumpeted – or at least much-tweeted – visit to Beijing for the same purpose.
Human rights in China and Hong Kong is not – and should not be – a party political matter. I have my criticisms of the previous government and my concerns about the current government’s approach. But I also have many friends on all sides who share the same view. Lord Mandelson trying to weaponise this issue as a stick with which to beat the Conservatives and a wedge to drive between the parties is wicked.
Finally, to the absurdity of his suggestion that the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Hong Kong is still intact, I make simply three points.
First, read this article by Lord Sumption, who finally made the decision to quit sitting in Hong Kong’s courts. He says this: ‘Hong Kong, once a vibrant and politically diverse community is slowly becoming a totalitarian state. The rule of law is profoundly compromised in any area about which the government feels strongly.’
Second, follow the case of my friend Jimmy Lai, the 76-year-old British citizen and media entrepreneur who has been in jail for more than three and a half years on multiple trumped-up charges including serving 13 months for lighting a candle and saying a prayer at a peaceful vigil to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
As I wrote earlier this week, Mr Lai – a devout Catholic – has reportedly been denied Communion since last December, is held in solitary confinement for more than 23 hours a day, denied access to independent medical care and has very limited access to human contact or daylight. As his international legal team at Doughty Street Chambers – where the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer KC practised – said yesterday at the United Nations, Mr Lai’s continued arbitrary detention raises grave concerns.
Mr Lai is still on trial under the National Security Law, and could face life imprisonment. Several foreign nationals, including myself, have been named as collaborators with him in his trial. None of us – despite appeals from Parliamentarians in the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) – have been called to give evidence. Mr Lai’s entire trial is a travesty of justice, especially as he was denied his first choice of legal counsel. What kind of rule of law or judicial independence is that?
And third, just look at the multitude of other cases. The fact that 47 former elected legislators and activists were arrested for holding a primary election to choose their candidates for what should have been Hong Kong’s Legislative Council elections; the fact that the editors of Stand News were convicted of sedition last month; the crackdown on press freedom and closure of Mr Lai’s Apple Daily in 2021; and the fact that in Hong Kong today, if you wear a T-shirt of a particular colour or sing a particular song, you can be arrested and jailed – what kind of rule of law is that, Lord Mandelson?
In a fig-leaf to those who believe in human rights and democracy, the former British First Secretary of State, Trade Secretary and European Union Trade Secretary said he did think that the Hong Kong authorities should ‘tread lightly on people’s lives’. Tell that to Jimmy Lai. Tell that to the Stand News editors. Tell that to the hundreds of political prisoners in jail in Hong Kong today. Lord Mandelson, you can do better than that.
Few would dispute that we must talk to Beijing. Certainly I do not advocate disengagement. But the question for me is not whether to engage but how, and I am certain that we achieve nothing by kowtowing, diluting, denying, undermining or surrendering our values or by varnishing our differences. While they may not like it, the CCP respects us more if we stand up for what we believe in, rather than – as long-time American businessman James McGregor put it nearly a decade ago – ‘acting like a panting puppy’.
Other failed politicians have attempted to cosy up to Beijing. Think Vince Cable. Think George Osborne. But what makes Lord Mandelson’s intervention dangerous is that he has the ear of the new Prime Minister and is spoken of as a candidate to be either UK Ambassador to the United States or Chancellor of Oxford University. If he continues acting like a ‘panting puppy’ with regard to China, he should be disqualified from both positions and left to shout on the sidelines. His analysis of and partisanship in matters of China policy profoundly discredit him and endanger our national interest and values.
UK Peer Slams Tory Boycott of Hong Kong, Urges Thaw With China
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/international/2024/09/17/uk-peer-slams-tory-boycott-of-hong-kong-urges-thaw-with-china/
By Rebecca Choong Wilkins and David Ingles
Peter Mandelson (Paul Miller/Bloomberg)
“It was in danger of operating a boycott of Hong Kong and the necessary communication that Britain needs to maintain with China,” the former British trade secretary said in an interview during his first trip to the Asian finance hub in more than four years. “And that’s what is going to change under the new government.”
The Labour peer is a close adviser to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who led the party to a landslide election win in July. Mandelson is also a co-founder of Global Counsel, a firm that’s become one of the most influential advisory groups in the UK and has been expanding its coverage of China.
Britain’s relations with China have turned sharply for the worse after what then Prime Minister David Cameron proclaimed was a “golden era” of relations with Beijing when he was in power back in 2015.
In 2021, the Conservatives blocked Huawei Technologies Co. from participating in Britain’s 5G network and more recently traded barbs with Chinese officials over allegations of spying.
Hong Kong
Mandelson, who was an influential figure in the last Labour government under Tony Blair and has been a peer in the House of Lords since 2008, met with Hong Kong officials, top businessmen and bankers during the visit. He said he was shocked that members of the local government were “cold shouldered” by ministers during trips to London earlier this year.
“That’s a serious infringement of Britain’s role and responsibility in Hong Kong,” he said.
The former British colony has faced criticism from Western governments over dismantling many of the freedoms that once set the city apart from the mainland. The US earlier this month issued an advisory that warned businesses operating in Hong Kong could fall afoul of new national security legislation — an announcement the city’s government rejected as “misleading and untruthful.”
While Mandelson said he believes the rule of law remains intact and the judiciary is still independent in Hong Kong, he urged the government to be “very careful” of moving in a direction criticized by its detractors.
“I think very strongly that the Hong Kong authorities have to tread lightly on people’s lives,” he said.
Re-engaging China
The former European trade commissioner said the UK government planned to re-engage with China after a full audit of the bilateral ties, including by re-establishing formal meetings between officials. Starmer has yet to articulate a formal strategy toward the world’s second-largest economy since taking power.
During a phone call seen as laying the ground for a reset between the two countries’ governments, Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping last month he was hopeful for “frank, open and honest” talks on areas of disagreement including on Hong Kong. The prime minister additionally referenced Russia’s war in Ukraine and human rights as issues the UK wants to address with China.
The new Labour administration is also crafting an economic agenda to lay out “strategies” for key sectors including electric vehicles. That may provide insight into the country’s position on imports of Chinese EVs, an industry the European Union and the US are targeting with tariffs.
The British government “wants to, in time, recreate the strategic dialogs that Britain has had with China in the past,” Mandelson said. Some of such forums have been halted in recent years, including the UK-China Economic and Finance Dialogue which hasn’t taken place since 2019.
Mandelson also had a word of caution for companies at risk of getting caught in the crosshairs of rising tensions.
“You can operate your business in both the American and Chinese economies, but inevitably you’ve got to be mindful of any downside risks of doing so,” he said. “At the end of the day, it behooves governments of all countries to allow businesses to do business.”
Wrong Turn
The UK’s re-engagement with China would be conditional on Beijing’s condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to Mandelson. Responding to a question, he agreed that was a minimum requirement for improving the ties and criticized China’s “wrong turning” over its alignment with Russia.
“It hangs like a cloud, frankly, over China’s relationship with the whole of Europe,” he said. “We would want to see China taking a more responsible approach to that conflict.”
China has cultivated a partnership with the Kremlin despite the 2022 invasion, seeking to portray itself as a neutral actor that can help end the war.
Beijing should use its influence and “premier role” in the international system to bring about a withdrawal by Russia from Ukraine and a settlement between the two countries, Mandelson said.
“China cannot complain on the one hand of threats to its territorial integrity and, in the next moment, stand stand idly by whilst Russia changes Ukraine’s borders by force,” he said. “There is a double standard there and hypocrisy, which does not serve China well.”
【文/观察者网 张菁娟】据香港《南华早报》26日报道，英国工党资深政治家、英首相斯塔默的“亲密顾问”曼德尔森（Peter Mandelson）表示，过去十年英国犯的最大错误就是对华态度急转，“这是不理智的，也是不现实的”。
报道称，十多年来，在历届保守党政府的领导下，英国与中国的关系有所下降，因为英国越来越将中国视为一个安全挑战。
谈及卡梅伦任期时的中英关系，曼德尔森表认为，“这既不是黄金时代，也不持久”。约翰逊自称“亲华派”却“打人权牌”。特拉斯频频“打反华牌”，而她的继任者苏纳克则把中国列为“威权主义国家”。
“（英国）最大的错误在于它（对华态度）急转弯，从一个极端转向另一个极端。先是疯狂示好，然后转向厌恶。这是不理智的，也是不现实的。”曼德尔森说。
自斯塔默政府上台以来，英国尚未对中国制定正式战略。斯塔默此前表示，工党政府将对英中关系进行英国与中国的关系进行全面审查，以了解来自中国挑战的规模，并根据审查结果采取相应行动。
在曼德尔森看来，中英关系面临挑战。英国与中国的竞争非常激烈，有时甚至会挑战中国，英国需要与中国建立一种联系，“使我们能够在适当和必要时与中国合作”。
“在全面审查完成后，我们在与中国的接触中追求的正是这种明确性和连续性。”曼德尔森说。
今年8月，中英领导人通了电话，斯塔默表示，要本着相互尊重的精神发展长期、稳定、具有战略意义的英中关系。
曼德尔森认为，当今贸易越来越多地受到地缘政治的影响，但英国不能因此“抵制世界上最大、增长最快的经济体”。
中国是英国在亚洲最大贸易伙伴，中英贸易额近年来每年都超过1000亿美元。而英国是中国在欧洲第三大贸易伙伴、第二大投资目的地和第三大外资来源地。数据显示，2024年上半年，中英双边贸易额467.7亿美元，其中我国对英出口372.4亿美元，自英进口95.3亿美元。
曼德尔森 资料图
曼德尔森是工党元老，曾担任英国贸易大臣和欧盟贸易专员。他上周在接受彭博社采访时，就曾批评英国前任保守党政府未能与中国保持适当的沟通渠道。他认为，这正是英国新政府需要改变的。
9月16日，曼德尔森在香港大学发表演讲时表示，尽管英国新政府在恢复英国全球影响力方面面临“重大挑战”，但他对英国在斯塔默领导下改善与中国的双边关系感到乐观，因为“新一届政府已经决定，希望与中国进行接触”。
他呼吁，英中两国首先应该“停止互相诋毁”，增强对话和交流，尤其是两国政府和人民之间的交流。
在曼德尔森作出有关表态后不久，中英经济财金对话中方牵头人、国务院副总理何立峰9月18日应约同对话英方牵头人、英国财政大臣里夫斯通电话，就重启中英经济财金对话、加强经贸合作交换意见。
何立峰表示，中方愿与英方共同落实好两国领导人重要共识，重启中英经济财金对话，加强发展战略对接，促进贸易和投资自由化便利化，拓展金融、绿色经济、生物医药、人工智能等领域合作。里夫斯表示，英方愿与中方加强对话合作，为英中发展长期互利的关系建立稳定、持久的基础。
