A PRC invasion of Taiwan would be a catastrophe for the world economy, a failure of foreign diplomacy, and would collapse the Chinese economy, the UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverely  said in an interview with the Spectator Magazine published today.

Mr Cleverley made the remarks as he defended earlier statements regarding his willingness to re-engage with the PRC despite concerns that doing so would not be likely to elicit valuable trade or diplomatic gains in the UK’s relations with the country.

Facing criticism that he has been ‘soft on China’ compared to the policy under the previous PM, Liz Truss, and asked how he would react should the PRC invade or attack Taiwan, Cleverley said:

“Disruption across the Strait is everyone’s business … This is not an entirely domestic matter, huge international trade volumes go through that body of water”

He went on to describe how an attack would be a ‘massive failure of foreign policy’ and warned about the consequences of such a move for China and the world:

“It would be a catastrophically bad thing for the global economy … and it would be catastrophically bad for the Chinese economy … and bring a number of other economies down with it”

A full copy of the interview will be available on the Spectator’s Chinese Whispers podcast.