Confusion and delay still at heart of Labour’s China strategy

We don t have long to wait before Andy Burnham reveals his Ten-Year Plan. Early reports suggest it will be broken into three themes: growing up, getting on and growing old. I wish I was making that up, but it seems the PM really is putting the finishing touches to a cradle to the grave strategy for his citizens. You know who else does this? China. The world s second largest economy is currently on its 15th Five-Year Plan, meaning Burnham will need to plot another 65 years if he wants to demonstrate similar foresight. But how much attention is he paying to China? According to a damning new report from MPs, the government is making up its China policy as it goes along. When Keir Starmer entered Downing Street, he promised to conduct a pan-Whitehall audit of the UK s relations with and policies towards China. As MPs on the Business Committee note in their new report, that audit was never published. Ministers cite national security concerns, and of course if the audit really