Peter Mandelson on why UK’s U-turn on China was a big ‘mistake’, what Labour will do next

Britain’s biggest mistake with China over the past decade was its sharp shift from courtship to aversion, according to a British Labour Party veteran, who stressed that Britain could not afford to boycott Beijing.

“It does not mean normalising the relationship as this isn’t possible given how much we compete with China and sometimes challenge China … But we need a relationship that enables us to cooperate with China when desirable and necessary,” he said.

“And it’s that clarity and that continuity that we are pursuing in any re-engagement with China following the audit of the relationship.”

Led by successive Conservative governments for more than a decade, Britain’s ties with China declined as it grew to view China as a security challenge.