For years, Washington and London have been using "human rights issues" in order to extract commercial concession from China.
Now, the growing role of China in the global economy is forcing leaders like David Cameron to water down Britain's "ethical" foreign policy towards China.
According to a Downing Street source, quoted by the Independent,
Britain "has turned a page on the Dalai Lama issue".
The source also noted that the British government wants to use the upcoming visit of David Cameron to Beijing as a means of "shifting up a gear" in the UK-China relations.
It is expected that during the visit, David Cameron will avoid raising the issues of Tibet or alleged human rights abuses.
From a political point of view, the relations between China and the UK are at a low point.
After Dalai Lama's visit to London where he met the British Prime Minister,
Beijing issued a formal protest to the British ambassador and called off a planned visit of the Chinese Prime Minister to the UK.
From an economic point of view, the relations are developing smoothly.
Chinese investors play a significant role in the country's capital and property markets,
while the recent opening of a bilateral currency swap facility is expected to boost trade.
However, because of the difficulties that are being experienced by the British economy,
David Cameron is looking for an increase in Chinese investments that are believed to be crucial for reviving economic growth.
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