It used to be said that political parties were Eurosceptic in opposition, but Europhile in government. The same perhaps could now be said of China. Back in July, Rishi Sunak was keen to talk tough on the Beijing behemoth, which he called Britain’s ‘biggest long-term threat’. He tweeted that ‘China and the Chinese Communist party represent the largest threat to Britain and the world’s security and prosperity this century’. And Sunak also accused China of ‘stealing our technology and infiltrating our universities’ in one punchy attack:

Abroad, they are propping up Putin’s fascist invasion of Ukraine by buying his oil and attempting to bully their neighbours, including Taiwan. They are saddling developing countries with insurmountable debt and using this to seize their assets or hold a diplomatic gun to their heads. They torture, detain and indoctrinate their own people, including in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, in contravention of their human rights. And they have continually rigged the global economy in their favour by suppressing their currency.

Yet now such talk has now been significantly watered down. Arriving in Bali for the G20 yesterday, Sunak hinted he will abandon plans to declare China a ‘threat’ to national security as part of a major review of British foreign policy. Speaking to reporters traveling with him, he twice refused to back his predecessor Liz Truss’ plans to elevate China’s status to that of a ‘threat’ in an upcoming refresh of the UK government’s foreign and defence priorities.

Indeed, when asked by Politico reporter Eleni Coureau, Sunak claimed that China poses a ‘systemic threat’ before hastily correcting himself to say ‘systemic challenge’ instead. He described China more narrowly as ‘the biggest state-based threat to our economic security’ but then added that China was ‘an indisputable fact of the global economy and we’re not going to be able to resolve shared global challenges like climate change… without having a dialogue.’

Where did Sunak the Sinosceptic go? Mr S understands realpolitik and the virtues of diplomacy. But there are dangers to U-turning on such a significant issue, not least here at home. The Tory premier has been quick to suggest at PMQs that Sir Keir Starmer cannot be trusted because he abandoned every one of the promises on which he was elected as Labour leader. But if he continues to shape-shift at such speed, the same attack can be levelled just as easily at him.

First, it was his 10-point plan on migration. Now it’s China. How much did Sunak believe in the manifesto he campaigned on four months ago? Or was it always undeliverable?

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