The Determinants of the UK’s Shifting Political Relations with China (2013-2023)

Year 2024, , 703 - 735, 15.09.2024

Serdar Altun

https://doi.org/10.56720/mevzu.1503839

Abstract

This study examines the United Kingdom’s political relations with China. The bilateral affairs between the two were once claimed to have entered a golden era. However, just a few years after this promotion, the relations underwent a significant negative shift which has lasted in an increasingly worsening fashion until current times. The key focus of this paper is on the evolution of the relationship during the period between 2013 and 2023. Its primary objective is to provide a structured account of the relationship in the years covered there to understand better the UK’s political/diplomatic position on China, a rising major power. In the first part after the introduction, the emergence and evolution of the socalled Golden Era along with the earlier signs of its transformation are offered. Later, the key political issues revolving around both China's aggression at home and abroad, and China-related influence and espionage efforts inside the UK are discussed. Lastly, the UK’s new protective measures implemented in relation to the political issues it has had with China are discussed. In the conclusion, key findings are presented to make the current tide of the UK’s political relations with China more comprehensible.

Keywords

United Kingdom Foreign Policy, British Foreign Policy, Chinese Foreign Poli-cy, UK – China Relations, Golden Era

Ethical Statement

With little revisions, this article is extracted from the author’s ongoing PhD thesis study on the UK’s relations with China between 2013 and 2023, at the Department of International Relations, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University.

Birleşik Krallık’ın Çin ile Dönüşen Siyasal İlişkileri ve Değişimin Temel Dinamikleri (2013-2023)

Abstract

Bu çalışma Birleşik Krallık'ın Çin ile olan siyasi ilişkilerini incelemektedir. Bir dönem ikili ilişkilerin Altın Çağ’ını yaşadığı iddia edilmekteydi. Ancak, bu yüksek düzeyli söylemlerden sadece birkaç yıl sonra, ilişkiler olumsuz yönde önemli bir değişim geçirmiş ve bu değişim günümüze kadar gide-rek kötüleşen bir şekilde devam etmiştir. Bu makalenin temel odak noktası, 2013-2023 yılları arasındaki süreçte ilişkilerin geçirdiği dönüşümdür. Çalışma, Birleşik Krallık'ın yükselen bir büyük güç olan Çin karşısındaki siyasi/diplomatik konumlanışını daha iyi anlamak için söz konusu yıllardaki ilişkilerin sistematik bir anlatısını sunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Girişten sonraki ilk bölümde, Altın Çağ olarak adlandırılan dönemin ortaya çıkışı ve evrimi ile birlikte söz konusu dönüşümün ilk işaretleri ele alınmaktadır. Sonrasında, Çin'in yurtiçi ve yurtdışındaki agresif uygulamaları ve Birleşik Krallık içinde Çin'le bağlantılı olduğu iddia edilen nüfuz ve casusluk faaliyetleri etrafında dönen temel siyasi meselelere değinilmektedir. Son olarak, Birleşik Krallık'ın Çin ile yaşadığı siyasi sorunlarla ilgili olarak uygulamaya koyduğu yeni koruyucu önlemler tartışılmaktadır. Sonuç bölümünde ise çalışmadaki temel bulgular Birleşik Krallık'ın Çin ile siyasi ilişkilerindeki mevcut gidişatı daha anlaşılır kılmayı hedefleyen bir yaklaşımla tartışılıp özetlenmiştir.

Keywords

Birleşik Krallık Dış Politikası, İngiltere Dış Politikası, Çin Dış Politikası, İngiltere Çin İlişkileri, Altın Çağ

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