British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw set out a new direction for British foreign policy yesterday that will shift the balance toward the growing economies of China and India.
Straw spoke at a "leadership conference" in London of 200 British ambassadors, high commissioners, governors and other Foreign Office staff brought back from their posts worldwide.
Britain must be assertive in its foreign policy if it is to help encourage peace and stability in a rapidly changing world, the foreign secretary said.
Energy and migration would be key areas in the years to come, Straw said in laying out British priorities overseas.
The Middle East, including Iraq and Iran, are sure to remain a major focus, he said. And Britain had to be active in its diplomacy, rather than just responding to events.
At times of rapid change, "if you don't make the right decisions internationally, you can end up with the consequences of those changes being adverse," he said.
"What we're seeking to do is identify the trends ... and work for a more peaceful, prosperous world," he said.
As well as his speech, a 60-page government white paper was published on the future of diplomacy.
In the last white paper two years ago, only two paragraphs were devoted to China and India. Since then, there has been growing recognition that China is almost certain to be one of the dominant economic forces of the 21st century and a challenge to the US' superpower status. India too is emerging as a powerhouse and being courted by the US as a possible counterweight to China.
The white paper, An Active Diplomacy for a Changing World, comes only weeks after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced a redeployment of diplomatic staff away from Europe to China and India and to Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia where hostility towards the US has grown. A similar shift in priorities is taking place in Britain.
The Foreign Office has frequently been sidelined by Downing Street since British Prime Minister Tony Blair took office, particularly in the run-up to the Iraq war. As well as the 200 overseas representatives, the London gathering will be attended by 150 London-based Foreign Office staff.
Diplomats had the opportunity throughout the day-long event to challenge Straw and his ministerial colleagues, Sir Michael Jay, the most senior diplomat, and Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet secretary.
The event was closed to the media, other than Straw's opening speech.
The white paper stressed a need for British diplomats to pay more attention to issues such as climate change and diminishing energy supplies.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese