Can Boris Johnson face down his China hawks?

Relations between the UK and China came under even greater strain over the weekend. In a fraught interview on the Andrew Marr Show, the Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming said his government was still ‘evaluating the consequences’ of the ‘very bad decision’ by the UK government to ban Huawei from 5G networks by the end of 2027. It came as news broke that Chinese social media app TikTok has suspended talks with the UK on setting up its headquarters in London – citing the ‘wider geopolitical context’.

That news has been met with little sadness by Tory MPs. While the Chinese tech firm that owns TikTok has since insisted they remain fully committed to investing in London, there are plenty in the Conservative party who would like to see the opposite. In light of recent decisions by the UK government on Hong Kong and Huawei, its relationship with China is becoming increasingly hostile.