The British government is growing warier of China

The Economist | February 21, 2019

In 2015 David Cameron and Xi Jinping propped up a bar in Buckinghamshire to toast a “golden era” in Anglo-Chinese relations over pints of ale. Things now seem to have turned bitter. The latest example came in a speech by Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, on February 11th. Mr Williamson promised that Britain’s new aircraft carrier, the Queen Elizabeth (pictured above), would go to the Pacific for its inaugural mission in 2021, complete with American-piloted f-35 fighter jets. Britain, he said would “oppose those who flout international law”.

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