He is not a contortionist, nor is he known to practice yoga in the morning to give his body special flexibility, but on his return to the Government (as Minister of Foreign Affairs) David Cameron needs to head towards Europe with the right foot and move away from China on the wrong foot.
Towards Europe, but in a subtle way, without proclaiming it too much, because his boss, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, tacitly admits that Brexit is not the panacea he expected (like more than half of the British), and that the United Kingdom It is in his best interest to build bridges with Brussels, bury the hostility that his predecessors Johnson and Truss fostered, and smooth over trade issues to stimulate exports and imports, even if it is at the price of a considerable but silent regulatory alignment with the EU.
And simultaneously distance himself from China on a personal level, because since he left Downing Street in 2016, after losing the Brexit referendum, he has dedicated himself to making money in many ways, but one of them has been practicing a kind of public relations. for Beijing in projects such as the construction of a large port complex in Colombo (Sri Lanka) that some critics – without going any further, in Washington – see as a military outpost of the Asian giant in the Indian-Pacific region, with strategic implications. to consider.
During his six years in power, David Cameron received President Xi Jinping with the red carpet and proclaimed a “golden age” in bilateral relations that manifested itself in an important exchange of investments, opening the doors to China for the development of the new mobile digital telephone technology from this country and its nuclear industry.
But, since leaving power, China has gone from the status of rival to that of enemy for political reasons (aggressive international attitude, threats to Taiwan, repression in Hong Kong...), economic reasons (its growing power at the expense of the West ) and a series of episodes of military and industrial espionage (complaint by an agent who operated at the highest levels in the Westminster Parliament). That “golden age” has become an ice age. From heat to cold.
But Cameron, in the shadows, has taken advantage of the excellent ties he had created with Beijing and received payment – according to media such as The Guardian and The Observer – for speaking publicly about the “sea of opportunities” that a cordial relationship with China contains, and the “desirability of building bridges that create well-being and prosperity for all.” The Sri Lankan press claims, for example, that he received almost a quarter of a million euros to participate last September in talks in the United Arab Emirates to promote the new port in Colombo, a gigantic project that will be ready in 2041 with a financial center, chalets by the sea and a marina for luxury yachts that competes with Dubai.
It is one thing that the former prime minister's dealings with China raised some eyebrows and were considered more or less ethical. But as the new Secretary of the Foreign Office he finds himself under scrutiny, and has to declare all his business interests and sources of income (present, not past). That is why a distancing from China is inevitable, if only to align with the hostility towards Beijing that is today London's official line.
Distance with the Asian superpower with the left foot, and approach to Brussels with the right as the time to renegotiate aspects of Brexit approaches. The Sunak government has already made concessions on the Northern Ireland Protocol (the “Windsor agreements”) and has been readmitted to the Horizon community program for scientific cooperation. Continuing along these lines, its top priority is now the suspension for three years of the 10% tariff on the import and export of electric cars that is scheduled to come into force in January (and against which the automotive industries are lobbying). British and German automobile, but opposed by France). Then, the elimination of veterinary controls and taxes on food products, the validation of titles and professional qualifications, and visa facilities so that artists and small musical groups can resume tours in Europe.
Cameron's mission is to advance towards these objectives without attracting much attention from the Eurosceptic bloc, which is suspicious of his Europeanism and at the first opportunity will denounce a "betrayal of Brexit" and a passive regulatory alignment, in fact accepting the standards imposed by the EU. . Which, on the other hand, will be what the Labor Party's Keir Starmer will do from the outset if he wins the elections.
The good harmony of the former prime minister with the continental chancelleries would be in jeopardy, however, if the British Government, obsessed with sending immigrants to Rwanda, abandons the European Convention on Human Rights or suspends aspects of it. In the year that Cameron will be Foreign Minister, many balances will be required of him. Then he will be able to earn money again.
