UK’s ‘incoherent’ approach to China plagued by lack of expertise, report says

Past engagement with Beijing had often exposed the UK to the risks of interference without delivering the opportunities promised, the report says. Photograph: Florence Lo/Pool Reuters/AP

The UK’s approach to China is “beset by incoherence” and plagued by a lack of senior expertise, according to a report warning of the risks inherent in misjudging the bilateral relationship.

An audit by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), an international grouping of China-sceptic legislators, says past engagement with Beijing has often exposed the UK to the risks of interference without delivering the opportunities promised.