(London) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will say on Monday that the United Kingdom must defend more strongly its values of freedom and openness, in particular vis-à-vis China and Russia, in his first major foreign policy speech.
“Our adversaries and our competitors have a long-term strategy. In the face of these challenges, short-termism and wishful thinking will not suffice,” Rishi Sunak said, according to excerpts released by Downing Street ahead of his speech at Guidhall, the City of London palace, on Monday. , in front of an audience of diplomats and representatives of the business world.
“It means being stronger to defend our values and the openness on which our prosperity is based,” he must add.
It also means “standing up to our competitors, not with grand rhetoric, but with robust pragmatism”, he must add.
According to Downing Street, in this first major foreign policy speech since he became head of government at the end of October, the Prime Minister must in particular insist on the fact that in the face of the ambitions of China and Russia, the United Kingdom must also defend a long-term vision.
This will be based on the revival of relations between the United Kingdom and Europe, damaged by Brexit, as well as in the Indo-Pacific zone, where the Secretary of State in charge of this region, Anne-Marie Trevelyan , is currently on the move.
But to have a voice that carries on the international scene, the United Kingdom must have “a stronger economy”, must say Mr. Sunak, while the country is mired in an economic and social crisis.
London is currently in the process of revising its doctrine in terms of security, defense and foreign policy to adapt to the new geopolitical context marked in particular by the war in Ukraine, the increase in tensions with Iran or with China.
Last summer, during his campaign for Downing Street, which he lost to Liz Truss, who remained in power for just over a month, Rishi Sunak called the Asian giant the “biggest security threat” in the world. and the UK.
In mid-November during the last G20, he had however called for “a frank and constructive relationship between London and Beijing”, whose relations have been strained in recent years.
In his speech on Monday, Rishi Sunak will also emphasize his country’s support for Ukraine.