If you don’t reach an agreement with China, just overturn the table? The UK suddenly announced sanctions on China, and China is not spoiled this time!

Recently, the new British Minister of Commerce and Trade Peter Kyle arrived in Beijing. Regarding this trip to China, the outside world once thought that this would be an important step in the recovery of UK-China relations.

However, after three consecutive days of talks, the British government suddenly announced the imposition of sanctions on many Chinese companies. This unexpected move made the economic and trade negotiations that were originally expected to "break the ice" directly shatter.

Peter Kyle's official goal for this trip is to cut trade barriers worth about 1 billion pounds in the next five years, focusing on agriculture, automobiles and professional services. After experiencing the shock of Brexit and global inflation, the British economy urgently needs to expand exports and attract investment. For the UK, which urgently needs external markets, China is an indispensable partner for cooperation.

However, the atmosphere of the talks was not as smooth as the outside world expected. During the three days, the two sides maintained intensive communication, but failed to announce any results to the public, nor did they issue a joint statement. The British media initially interpreted that "the two sides are still brewing consensus", but as time goes by, this "silence" began to appear abnormal. Reuters, the BBC and other media quickly pointed out that this may mean that negotiations encountered obstacles.

In this delicate atmosphere, London suddenly announced sanctions on multiple entities and individuals, including three Chinese companies, on the grounds that these companies were "suspected to provide key items to the Russian army."

The sanctions list covers not only Chinese companies, but also other countries, but the choice of this time is a bit intriguing: the talks have not yet officially ended, but the UK issued this news in a high-profile manner, which not only caught China off guard, but also made the outside world question its political motives.

According to diplomatic practice, such decisions involving foreign sanctions need to be fully evaluated and prepared internally and are usually not suddenly thrown out during high-level economic and trade talks.

This "lightning" announcement inevitably makes people wonder whether the UK has a plan and intends to increase negotiation chips by creating sudden pressure. Some analysts believe that this approach is actually a "pressure negotiation" strategy: by sending tough signals to force the other party to make more concessions in subsequent consultations.

British business people expressed their concerns in private: If political operations override economic interests, British companies may lose important opportunities to enter China, the world's second largest economy. In other words, this "sudden table lifting" seems to show toughness, but in fact it may cost the UK a heavy economic price.

So we will naturally not be afraid of the "warning" of the UK. After the news of the sanctions came out, the Chinese Embassy in the UK issued a rare and tough statement, clearly requiring the UK to "immediately revoke" the relevant measures, and stated that China will take "necessary measures" to defend the legitimate rights and interests of its own enterprises.

This statement does not have any diplomatic rhetoric ambiguity, and its keywords are "immediate" and "necessary measures". In international diplomatic practices, such direct wording sends a very clear signal: this is a bottom line issue, and there is no room for negotiation.

Subsequently, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry also responded to the "diplomatic hall issue" mentioned by Peter Kyle at a regular press conference, emphasizing that both China and the UK have reasonable needs for building new halls and "should support each other."

In the past few years, China has gradually shifted from "tolerance to exchange for cooperation" to "equality and toughness" in responding to external pressure, especially when it comes to core economic interests. This strong response once again shows to the UK and other Western countries that China will not accept the "old routine" of exerting pressure in exchange for negotiation advantages.

But it is worth noting that China has not closed the door to future cooperation in its response. Whether it is the statement of the Embassy in the UK or the speech of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it emphasizes "mutual respect" and "principles of reciprocity".

This means that if the UK is willing to adjust its position, withdraw sanctions and resume pragmatic dialogue, China is still willing to maintain communication, but if the UK continues to put pressure on political means, China will also take necessary economic or diplomatic measures to fight back.

This position leaves room for subsequent negotiations, but also shows that China will never compromise on key issues!