●●●●●
編者按：8月3日，上海外國語大學英國研究中心研究員高健在《環球時報》（英文版）發表題為「It is not in the Great Britain's diplomatic interests to alienate China」的評論文章。該文中文版8月5日發表於「東方網·東方智庫」，標題為「疏遠中國，不符合英國的根本外交利益」。
2015年以來，中英雙邊關係一直處於相對穩定的發展階段。儘管過去四年英國一直糾纏於脫歐困局中，中英在經濟貿易與文化教育領域的合作交流依舊穩步前進。然而，近期部分蓄意反華的英國政客叫囂要「重置」中英雙邊關係，甚至不惜損害英國現實利益與商業信譽，這種自殘式的政治言行將「後脫歐時期」的英國置於危險的境地。
近日，英國政府在涉華問題上的態度突變，有其內在發展邏輯與機理。不少觀點認為，在華為參與英國5G通訊網絡與中國香港問題上，英國政府突然採取極端對立立場，主要是迫於美國施以的壓力。這一說法，在一定程度上，忽視了英國國內政治氛圍的基本特點與制定政策的一般規律。
事實上，中英兩國在香港問題上基本立場是根本對立的。毋庸諱言，英國主流政客始終走不出殖民時代的帝國夢境，認為英國完全有理由捍衛其在香港的「特殊利益」；為數不少的英國議員無法擺脫冷戰思維，在意識形態上將中國視為一種「異己」的政治存在，在情感上也不能接受中國強勢崛起的客觀現實。這種複雜又微妙的態度一直影響著中英雙邊關係的發展。
因此，一方面，「黃金時代」的中英關係在經濟合作與民間交流領域取得了突飛猛進的發展；另一方面，各種影響中英雙邊關係的噪音從來都沒有停止。
就當前局勢而言，英國處於其現代歷史進程中最為困難的時期。脫歐已經成為既定事實，儘管這一近乎經濟自殺的政治選擇是否明智始終是一個需要深入討論的問題。過去幾年，由於盲目選擇了脫歐，「任性」的英國政客已將英國置於極為尷尬的政治被動局面。一個極為尖銳的問題是，英國還能夠承擔失去中國這一不可替代的國際合作夥伴的歷史代價嗎？
圖片說明：這是6月6日在英國倫敦拍攝的一家關閉的商店。（來源：新華社）
失去中英雙邊關係的有效支撐，英國構建其「全球英國」外交戰略體系的構想，只能淪為一句空話。英國政府在應對未來世界發展的外交戰略中提出，要積極回應「日益具有挑戰性的全球政治環境」，以確保英國能夠繼續作為「全球外交領域的成功參與者」。這就意味著更為國際化的英國外交在更大範圍內構建互利共贏的雙邊關係與多邊關係，始終將基於規則的國際政治秩序與多邊外交體系作為其外交政策的核心組成部分，突出強調「自由貿易」是英國外交的核心價值理念，堅定地做自由貿易體系的代言人與守衛者。
然而，英國近來對華政策與其「全球英國」的外交戰略背道而馳，極大擠壓了英國自身的外交戰略空間，成為美國外交的附屬，這樣的政治決策還談何「全球英國」呢？過度依靠舊時代的同盟關係，只會損害英國的根本利益。沒有任何明顯的證據表明，英美特殊關係對於英國的全球外交戰略是一個加分選項，如果英國指望通過遞交反華投名狀，博得美國在雙邊《自由貿易協定》中的讓步，那無異於痴人說夢，因為當今英美雙邊關係的本質是赤裸裸的利益關係。
尤其需要強調的是，英國對華為參與英國5G通訊網絡的政策，極大損害了英國「自由貿易」立國的國際形象，過度消耗了英國的國際商業信譽。英國是「自由貿易」立國的典型國家，英國經濟的活力很大程度上依賴自由貿易體系。因此，支持世界範圍內的自由貿易是英國構建「全球英國」外交格局的核心要素，是實現「全球英國」外交戰略的首要任務。英國在維護全球自由貿易體系這一問題上與美國的立場存在根本差異，其在即將到來的WTO改革新一輪談判中將採取維護自由貿易原則的立場。
圖片說明：7月14日，英國文化大臣奧利弗·道登宣布，英國已決定停止在5G建設中使用華為設備。（來源：新華社）
然而，英國政府在華為事件中朝令夕改，視如此嚴肅的重大國際商業合作如兒戲，這種短視的態度極大損害了國際投資者對英國市場的信心。以犧牲本國消費者的現實利益為代價，在沒有任何證據的前提下以所謂的國家安全為由，阻斷正常的商業合作，這是一個倡導全球自由貿易理念的國家做出的明智選擇嗎？
中英雙邊關係的發展空間與巨大需求，是觸手可及的現實。僅就中英經貿領域的合作而言，就有極大的合作潛能。中英在實物貿易、服務貿易、產能合作、節能環保領域、電子商務領域等眾多領域存在明顯的互補優勢。2019年，中英經貿合作也取得豐碩成果，雙邊貨物貿易額超過860億美元，比10年前已翻了一番還多。
加強中英金融服務領域合作對雙方具有重大戰略意義。「滬倫通」啟動開創了中國與境外資本市場互聯互通先河。倫敦的人民幣累計清算量突破40萬億元，成為全球第二大人民幣離岸清算中心和第一大人民幣離岸外匯交易中心。今年1月1日起，中國進一步推進金融領域開放，取消證券、期貨、基金、壽險外資股比限制。英國在國際金融領域具有豐富的人才資源與一流的服務水準，雙方基於既有合作成果進一步加強國際貨幣業務與金融投資業務的合作是完全可以期待的。
近日，中國外交部長王毅與英國外交大臣拉布通電話時明確指出，雙方應該保持應有的成熟與理性，尊重彼此的核心利益與重要關切，維護兩國關係的政治基礎。英國政府素來以現實利益的最大化為立國根本，一個明智的對華政策應該是可以期待的。
It is not in the Great Britain's diplomatic interests to alienate China
China-UK bilateral relations have been developing stably since 2015. Although it has been stuck in the Brexit dilemma over the past four years, the UK has nevertheless achieved steady progress in its cooperation with China in the fields of trade, economy, and education. However, some British China hawks are now demanding a "reset" of the China-UK relations at the expense of Britain's interests and business reputation. Such political claims will put the post-Brexit Britain in a very dangerous position.
The UK's recent change of attitude toward China has its own logic. Some perceive that the UK's firm opposition to Huawei's involvement in the British 5G network and the Hong Kong-related affair results from the US pressure. But they have neglected the basic characteristics of British domestic politics and its general rules of policy-making. China-UK bilateral relations have been developing stably since 2015. Although it has been stuck in the Brexit dilemma over the past four years, the UK has nevertheless achieved steady progress in its cooperation with China in the fields of trade, economy, and education. However, some British China hawks are now demanding a "reset" of the China-UK relations at the expense of Britain's interests and business reputation. Such political claims will put the post-Brexit Britain in a very dangerous position.
In fact, China and Britain hold fundamentally opposing views over Hong Kong. Mainstream British politicians still believe in the greatness of Great Britain from the colonial era and thus claim its "special interests" in Hong Kong. Many also still have a Cold War mentality and regard China as hosting an alien ideology. They are unwilling to accept the fact that China has thrived. Under the effects of such subtle attitudes, China-UK relations have both realized rapid developments and undergone constant trials.
Britain now is in the middle of its hardest period in modern history. Controversial as it is, Brexit has become a reality. This has put Britain in a terribly passive position. The question now is: Can the UK afford to lose China - an irreplaceable partner?
To answer this mildly: Nothing can replace such an important international partner.
Without positive bilateral relations with China, UK's strategic vision of "Global Britain" is nothing more than a vain slogan. The British government has put forward its diplomatic strategy: It needs to cope with the world's increasingly challenging political environment and make sure the UK will continue its successful participation in the global diplomatic practices.
This implicates a more international British diplomacy and a larger scale of mutually beneficial bilateral and multilateral relations, plus a firm attitude on free trade. However, what Britain has done against China has run against its strategy of "Global Britain." It has dwarfed the UK to an affiliate of US diplomacy. Where is "Global Britain" under such circumstances?
Excessive reliance on its old allies will only harm UK's fundamental interests. There is no evidence to show that a special relationship between UK and US will contribute to the UK's global diplomatic strategy. The Anglo-American bilateral relationship is essentially driven by interests. Therefore, it is merely a romantic notion for UK to expect America's concession in the free trade agreement by going against China.
It is worth pointing out that UK's policy against Huawei is tremendously harming its global image as a free trade country and further damaging its international business reputation. The vitality of the British economy depends largely on the free trade system. Hence, supporting worldwide free trade plays a core role in the UK's construction of "Global Britain."
Britain holds a fundamentally different vision from the US in terms of maintaining the global free trade system. It will uphold free trade principals in the upcoming WTO negotiations, for example.
However, its sudden change of policies on the Huawei issue has exposed its short-sighted attitudes. This has thus caused a loss of confidence with global investors in the British market. What kind of a free trade country would ever block regular commercial cooperation on the grounds of the so-called national security with no proof and harm the interests of its domestic consumers?
It is pure fact that there exists large room and huge demands in the China-UK relations. In a recent telephone conversation, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab that both sides should remain rational and mature, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and maintain the political foundation of bilateral relations.
The British government has always put the maximization of practical interests as one of its founding principles. We therefore believe that a wise policy toward China can be expected.
來源 | 環球時報英文版 東方智庫
頭圖 | 楊麗駿
相關閱讀
□
□ 埃及《羅斯·優素福周刊》| 上外學者王廣大：阿拉伯國家一致支持中國抗疫
□
□
□ 伊朗塔斯尼姆通訊社 | 上外學者範鴻達：伊朗中國要有更客觀的互相認知
伊拉克《晨報》| 上外學者陳越洋：中伊兩國人民患難與共 中國醫療隊抵達巴格達
沙特《葉瑪麥》周刊 | 上外學者陳越洋 李雪婷：中沙人民合作抗疫積極向好
中坦攜手抗疫工作中的上外視角 | 上外學者寧藝在坦尚尼亞《每日新聞》發表斯瓦希裡語評論文章
●●●●●
閱讀上外多語種資訊，歡迎訪問
原標題：《上外學者高健在《環球時報》（英文版）發表評論文章：疏遠中國，不符合英國的根本外交利益》
閱讀原文