The War on the West

by Douglas Murray

Always the country has used its growing financial clout to flex its diplomatic muscles. Early in his time as prime minister, in 2012, David Cameron met the Dalai Lama while the Buddhist leader was on a trip to London. Because the CCP has a disagreement with the Dalai Lama over the issue of Tibet, they responded swiftly to news of the meeting. The British ambassador to China was immediately called into a meeting and given a telling off. In the wake of the incident, the CCP announced that relations with the United Kingdom had been severely damaged. Sure enough, Chinese investment there was put on hold. A trip to the United Kingdom by Chairman Wu Bangguo was called off, and the CCP talked about how “hurt” the Chinese people had been by the meeting. The British prime minister was understandably spooked and soon afterward announced that he planned never to meet the Dalai Lama again. The British government then issued a formal apology to the Chinese authorities for the offense caused. Normal trade relations were eventually restored. But what struck me most about the affair was an account I was subsequently given of the first meeting between British and Chinese officials after this affair. I was told by a source who had been at the meeting that before the meeting had got underway the CCP officials pushed a copy of the British apology across the table toward their British counterparts, who were then asked to stand up and read it aloud, which they duly did. Sitting down afterward, ...