The UK’s China Policy under U.S.-China Strategic Rivalry

This paper looks at issues in the formation of the United Kingdom’s policy toward China during a period of growing strategic rivalry between the United States and China, focusing particularly on the relationship between policy debates and the output of UK-based think tanks on China. By analyzing the policy debate and think tank output on three current key themes, including maritime politics in the South China Sea, whether to allow Chinese companies to participate or invest in “critical national infrastructure,” and China’s suspected “interference” in other countries’ domestic politics, this paper shows that UK-based think tanks tend to prioritize security concerns more than economic opportunities with regard to the UK’s China policy. Nevertheless, the impact of U.S.-China tensions and of policy advocacy and research on the UK is issue-dependent.