0:00
Here in the city, China means big
0:02
business. Last year, the UK exported 30
0:04
billion pounds worth of goods and
0:06
services to China, while we bought 70
0:08
billion pounds worth from them. But we
0:11
exported three 12 billion pound less to
0:13
China than we did in 2024 and we bought
0:16
3 billion pounds more. So, it's a big
0:18
relationship, but it's not a balanced
0:20
one. Behind this economic relationship
0:22
lies an uncomfortable and seemingly
0:24
contradictory reality. China is hostile
0:27
to us. The head of MI5 has warned that
0:30
Chinese spying against the UK is carried
0:32
out on an epic scale. The UK's top
0:35
spook, Ken McCullum, says Chinese state
0:37
actors present a national security
0:39
threat to the UK every day, including
0:42
cyber espionage, clandestine technology
0:44
acquisition, and covert influence
0:47
campaigns. Now, the UK doesn't turn a
0:49
blind eye to this, but we do hold our
0:51
notes, and we offer platitudes about the
0:53
important partnership and the economic
0:55
necessity of the trading relationship.
0:57
That relationship is significant, but
0:59
China is unique in being both a major
1:01
trading partner and a major security
1:04
threat, leading many people to ask
1:06
whether this tension can go on
1:08
indefinitely. It seems that for most of
1:10
whitesall and governments of any color,
1:12
the answer is yes, it
