The Emperor’s New World? Sino-British Elite Engagement in the Age of Capitalisation

This paper examines Chinese party-state influence in the UK, focusing on the decision by the UK government to allow Chinese party-state involvement in the project to construct the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in the south west of England. This decision left British security experts and the UK’s allies aghast, making it an ideal case by which to probe not only the traditional relationship between the two countries but also the shadow IR networks, located in this case, predominantly within the commercial realm. The paper considers the extent of PRC influence in the UK as well as the UK actors and institutions most receptive to PRC influence. The study employs an elite theory-influenced theoretical framework to gauge the nature of the relationship between the respective elites. Various investigative research techniques are employed to gather data, including global company records searches, Chinese-language background searches, and freedom of information requests to obtain UK government documents. This approach positions the paper at the intersection of corporate influence in UK policymaking and non-traditional Chinese party-state means of influence over foreign actors. The findings suggest that in many cases, international commercial entities are the midwives of PRC influence in the UK. The study also detects a division within the British establishment between financial and security experts over PRC engagement. The paper reasons that the reception PRC influence strategies receive has been shaped in part by the commercial entities. These groups have taken an increasingly prominent role in UK foreign policy generation via elite linkages and the “revolving door” phenomenon. This development has reshaped British priorities in the global arena in general, and UK-China engagement in particular. What is revealed is a complex Sino-British engagement landscape where commercial entities are able to assume prominent gatekeeper roles. This finding calls into question not only our understanding of Sino-British relations, but also Cartesian assumptions of international relations such as unit division by territory, sovereignty and identity.