A top economic adviser to Donald Trump has warned the UK against cosying up to China. Peter Navarro is one of the chief architects behind the US President's new tariff policy.
This has seen the White House slap a baseline tariff of 10% across trading partners, with increased levies on dozens more countries. The 75-year-old accused the UK of being a “compliant servant of communist China” and said it was at risk of having its “blood sucked” dry by Beijing.
He noted that Britain was in danger of becoming a dumping ground for goods that China can no longer sell to the US.
“As the US tries to get fairness from the biggest cheater, China, the UK and the EU have to be very vigilant about becoming dumping grounds for the products that China would otherwise sell to America,” he told The Telegraph.
Trump imposed tariffs as high as 145% on some Chinese products, forcing Beijing to seek out other markets for its goods.
The UK government has insisted it will never be forced to choose between the US and China.
A Downing Street spokesperson recently told journalists that the UK is taking a “calm and steady approach to secure growth and international trade".
They added: "The UK's pragmatic relationship with China will always be rooted in the interests of working people in the UK”
Since taking office last year, Labour promised a reset in relations with China.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves revived a long-dormant Economic and Financial Dialogue in January.
The Chancellor and her colleague the Foreign Secretary David Lammy have both visited China in recent months.
Both have argued for a stable and balanced relationship with Beijing, saying it could result in as much as £1 billion being added to the UK economy over five years.
Despite the rapprochement in relations, recently there have been signs of growing tensions between London and Beijing.
The government has forced Chinese company Jingye to give up control of British Steel and launched a review into the tax rules fuelling e-commerce giants like Temu and Shein.
Additionally, Labour moved to ban solar panels linked to forced labor in Xinjiang from state-backed energy projects.
