Andrew Neil has warned that China is plotting to "make the rest of the world dependent on its exports, destroying Western business in the process". The veteran broadcaster made the comments as US President Donald Trump prepares to welcome Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the US next month.
Mr Neil said China is "single-mindedly building enough industrial might to supply the world with just about every major manufacturing product it needs" in his Daily Mail column. "It is no less than a bid for global economic domination, with all the global political power that would follow - without the necessity of a shot being fired," he added.
China Shock 2.0
Mr Neil suggested that a "China Shock 2.0" could be imminent, following an initial flooding of western markets with cheap products in the early 2000s, which accelerated business closures and job losses.
The second iteration would pose an even greater threat by targeting sophisticated manufacturing, including of electric vehicles (EV) and pharmaceuticals on which the west is banking its economic future, he said.
Beijing already dominates the global EV market, accounting for over 70% of production and more than half of worldwide sales. "We're no longer talking about cheap clothes for teenagers or toys for kids," Mr Neil said. "We're talking about the industries of tomorrow."
Planned Trump-Xi meeting
The planned Trump-Xi meeting will follow months of targeted economic action between the two superpowers, including America banning Chinese-made robos and China banning US entities engaging in trade and other activities in China.
Mr Neil added that while Britain may escape the worst of the impact because of its limited advanced manufacturing trade, "we are governed by politicians who have no idea there is any kind of threat or, if they do, simply ignore it".
UK-China relations
It comes after Chinese vice-president Han Zheng hailed a "new chapter of bilateral ties" with the UK this summer following an "important consensus" on strategic partnership reached between former PM Keir Starmer and Xi Jinping earlier in the year. He said: "We need to intensify interactions and strengthen dialogue and cooperation for the sake of world peace and stability and for the growth of our respective economies."
Then-Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper agreed that "frank and constructive conversations" would help the UK and China to make "meaningful progress" during a visit in June, and said it was "in our shared interest to have a rules-based international order".
