Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to Britain last week had the pomp and circumstance, and glitter and glamor, that only the British can create — and which the Chinese demand. The visit — the first by a Chinese head of state in a decade — was intended to mark the start of a new "golden era" in ties between Britain and China, one in which London will become "China's best partner in the West." That policy makes some economic sense, but it is ringing alarm bells around the globe.
Britain's relationship with China has a long and troubled history. When they (along with the French) sacked the Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860, British forces began the "century of humiliation" that today defines China's image of itself and its relations with the outside world. The Opium Wars and the lease of Hong Kong were additional black marks. London has struggled to escape that history, but incidents such as Prime Minister David Cameron's meeting with the Dalai Lama in May 2012 continued to incite China.
Apparently, Cameron has seen the error of his ways. He has not met the Dalai Lama since, and his government appears to be accommodating Beijing at most opportunities. Britain was the first major Western nation to shed its hesitation and join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Earlier this year, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne visited Xinjiang, the region in western China that is predominately Muslim and that has struggled against a policy that many human rights groups consider the systematic oppression of rights. The visit came on the anniversary of the conviction of a moderate Uighur scholar on what is generally agreed to be trumped up charges. Osborne appeared to ignore the larger political context of his visit, signaling that Britain was indifferent to the human rights abuses being perpetrated there.