Analysis Case shows why Sino-British relations have deteriorated in 10 years

Prince Andrew should be commended for doing Britain a great service, according to the longstanding China watcher Charles Parton.

- Dan Sabbagh

The now marginalized royal has, the analyst observed, "almost single-handedly" succeeded in highlighting the threat to free and open countries posed by the contemporary Chinese state.

The story of Sino-British relations has developed rapidly of late, turning 180 degrees in less than a decade.

Nine years ago, David Cameron took China's president, Xi Jinping, for a pint in a Buckinghamshire pub during a state visit. China, under Cameron's premiership, was to be allowed to build nuclear plants in the UK, first through a minority investment in Hinkley Point in Somerset. It was hoped China would develop a majority-owned site in Bradwell, Essex, but the development never materialized.

Meanwhile, a cyberwar was continuing, in which Chinese hackers were trying to steal company secrets. Three and a half years ago, MI5 was gingerly warning people to be wary of people using fake LinkedIn profiles, posing as recruiters, to try to fool people into spilling commercial information as part of what they thought was a recruitment process. MI5 was too coy to name the country involved.

Since then, however, there have been a rash of espionage cases, reflecting an increase in ambition.