A view of the Canary Wharf business district in London, Britain, on October 14, 2020. REUTERS/Matthew Childs
LONDON, July 30, 2010 – British businesses are cutting ties with China because of political tensions, a move that could cause inflation, the head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said in an interview published on Saturday. .
“Every company I talk to right now is rethinking their supply chain … because our politicians think it’s inevitable to accelerate from China to a disconnected world,” CBI Director General Tony Danker is reported to have told the Financial Times. Newspaper.
China in 2010 It was Britain’s largest source of imports in 2021, accounting for 13% of the total, and was the sixth largest destination for exports, according to Britain’s official trade statistics.
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However, Britain’s security concerns have been on the rise in recent years, with disputes with China over Hong Kong and other issues. Last week, the head of the British Foreign Office, Richard Moore, said that before counter-terrorism work, China is now its first priority. Read more
Britain also banned Chinese takeovers of companies on national security grounds. Read more
The remaining candidates in the Conservative Party leadership race – Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak – have said they intend to take a tougher line on China. Read more
Danker said the growing US threat to China had made British companies more wary of relying on Chinese suppliers and that going elsewhere would be “too expensive and inflationary”.
“It doesn’t take a genius to think that cheap goods and cheap goods can be a thing of the past,” he added.
Britain’s inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.4% last month, largely due to rising energy costs caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Editing by Helen Popper, with a report by David Milliken
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
