Britain ‘wargames economic impact of Chinese invasion of Taiwan’ amid supply chain fears
Britain wargames economic impact of Chinese invasion of Taiwan amid fears supply of microchips and other key items could be halted – as ex-chancellor Philip Hammond says post-Brexit UK must trade with Beijing despite human rights abuses
- President Xi Jinping ‘s government has stepped up efforts to intimidate Taiwan
- China flying fighter jets and bombers near the island and firing missiles into sea
British officials are examining the economic fallout from a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan amid increasing hostility from Beijing towards the democratic island state.
Foreign Office officials are concerned about conflict in an important trade area involving the world’s second second-largest economy and how it might affect the UK.
President Xi Jinping‘s government has stepped up efforts to intimidate Taiwan by flying fighter jets and bombers near the island and firing missiles into the sea.
Among the prime concern is the impact on supply chains, including for microchips vital to a vast swathe of electrical devices from computers and telephones to washing machines, the Guardian reported.
It comes as former chancellor Philip Hammond makes an astonishing intervention in strained Sino-UK relations.
Mr Hammond used an article in the China Daily newspaper – which is run by the Communist regime – to urge the UK to boost trade links with Beijing.
The ex-MP also suggested that recent crisis including a clampdown on democracy in Hong Kong and the ethnic cleansing of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang was ‘background noise … (that) has been challenging’.
Foreign Office officials are concerned about conflict in an important trade area involving Taiwan – pictured is a Taiwanese honor guard for a meeting of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Paraguay President Mario Abdo Benitez today
President Xi Jinping’s government has stepped up efforts to intimidate Taiwan by flying fighter jets and bombers near the island and firing missiles into the sea.
Mr Hammond used an article in the Communist China Daily newspaper to urge the UK to boost trade links with Beijing.
‘Post-Brexit Britain has not yet set out its plan for the future and has not yet articulated how it will earn its living and maintain its prosperity,’ he wrote.
‘But I do know this: There is no credible plan for a prosperous future for a trading nation the size of the UK that involves turning its back on the world’s second-largest economy.
‘Let us focus not on what divides us but on what unites us — making the case for free and fair trade, encouraging mutual openness to investment, and working together to combat climate change.’
China imposed trade and investment sanctions on Lockheed Martin and a part of Raytheon for supplying weapons to Taiwan on Thursday, stepping up efforts to isolate the island democracy claimed by the ruling Communist Party as part of its territory.
Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles and Defence are barred from importing goods into China or making new investments in the country, the ministry of commerce announced.
It said they were added to the ‘unreliable entity’ list of companies whose activities are restricted because they might endanger national sovereignty, security or development interests.
It was not clear what impact the penalties might have. The United States bars most sales of weapons-related technology to China, but some military contractors also have civilian businesses in aerospace and other markets.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war. The island of 22 million people never has been part of the People’s Republic of China, but the Communist Party says it is obliged to unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.