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Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is currently in Beijing, primarily to discuss Iran. China is of course a member of the UN Security Council, so any further UN action over Iran will come under their gaze.
All of this dramatically confirms the emergence of China on the world stage. Even three years ago the Chinese were declaring that their overwhelming objective was simply economic growth, not international involvement, but that has now changed. They have just published a White Paper on defence, which includes a huge expansion of their navy, at a time when our ships are being mothballed – a telling contrast.
In response to its economic dynamism, the Chinese are moving towards a flat tax rate, harmonising the local and foreign investment tax regime, and encouraging initial public offerings by Chinese companies on their booming Shanghai stock market. Meanwhile they are building relationships across the globe to secure the natural resources they lack.
So they are becoming increasingly involved in our world – they are even trying to agree their mutual history with the Japanese. More and more will we see politicians beating a path to Beijing.
They are not a democracy and they have huge challenges, but as Europe shrinks in world importance, and America reassesses its world role, China’s economic importance is being matched by its political weight and influence. This is at a time when Britain’s reputation abroad is at its lowest ebb for decades.