Rishi Sunak signals end of ‘golden era’ of relations between Britain and China

Rishi Sunak has signalled the end of the “golden era” of relations between Britain and China, using his first major foreign policy speech to warn of the creeping authoritarianism of Xi Jinping’s regime.

As police in China launched a show of force in an attempt to contain the highest levels of civil disobedience seen in decades, the prime minister threw his support behind protesters by condemning Beijing’s crackdown, as well as the assault on a BBC journalist.

Sunak suggested a hardening of diplomatic relations and called China a “systemic challenge to our values and interests”, while also confirming the UK’s defence and security strategy for the next decade, known as the Integrated Review, would be updated in the new year.