How — and why — Britain is 'triggering' Trump

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This weekend, January 11-12, U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be visiting Mainland China. The Labour government, which came to power thanks to an election landslide in July 2024, considers the trip to be of great importance to the U.K. economy.

But according to Politico reporters Hannah Brenton and Dan Bloom, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's "virulent dislike of China" could complicate things for Reeves and other Labour officials in the U.K.

"After years of tension with the previous Conservative government over human rights and security concerns," Brenton and Bloom explain in an article published on Friday, January 10, "Reeves has political space to take a different, more businesslike approach to Beijing and try and tap China's vast market for economic benefits…. Reeves' mission has become more desperate as the U.K. economy continues to falter…. But it's Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House, and his virulent dislike of China, that creates the most peril, with Britain keen to avoid angering its biggest single trading partner."

The Politico journalists add, "With Trump's right-hand man and tech billionaire Elon Musk seemingly charting the daily course of British politics via posts on his social media platform, X, Reeves risks triggering another pile-on."

Brenton and Bloom emphasize that Reeves finds herself in a difficult, complicated position as Trump's inauguration draws closer and closer.

A bank lobbyist, presumably interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico, " China is a growing and important partner, but the U.S. is way more important — and we've now got someone who's incredibly hostile to China coming into the White House. All it will take is Trump to notice it, or someone to bring it to his attention, and you'll start to get another load of Musk, Trump, U.S. social media attacks on the U.K. government — this time for being soft on China."

Reeves will be meeting with Chinese officials in Beijing on Saturday, January 11 before heading to Shanghai the following day and returning to London on January 13.

Read Politico's full article at this link.

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