https://archive.ph/AT1vm
Starmer will try to bond with Trump over China concerns
Defence pact between UK, Australia and the US could prove a useful vehicle for getting close to the president-elect
Sir Keir Starmer will seek to bond with Donald Trump over shared concerns about China by hailing the success of a Pacific nuclear submarine deal.
The defence pact between Australia, the UK and the US, known by its acronym
Aukus, has been identified as a useful vehicle for getting close to Mr Trump.
Aukus will be held up as proof of Britain’s usefulness in the drive to counter China’s
growing military presence in the Pacific – a key concern of the incoming president.
Mr Trump has made standing up to China a central foreign policy goal, not just in trade where
he is proposing tariffs of 60 per cent on Chinese imports, but across the spectrum.
British officials are planning to frame the Aukus deal as a way that the UK can help Mr Trump deliver this key objective, not least as he is seen to potentially be a “transactional” president looking for real-world benefits from diplomacy......
One Whitehall source working on preparations for Mr Trump’s White House return told The Telegraph: “We must seize the opportunities presented.
“If one of those things is to find common ground on Aukus due to the China hawks in his administration that all helps.
“Whilst there’s potential contention around Ukraine, Europe, and trade, if there is an area of mutual agreement it would be good to use it as a building block and to our advantage. It would help prove the essential role of the special relationship.”