Jeremy Hunt, China’s go-to British minister, ‘may be off-limits’ after promotion to foreign secretary
Brexit deal set to push Asia down list of priorities for the China-friendly former health secretary, with government in disarray following two major resignations
Britain’s new foreign secretary may have burnished his credentials as someone knowledgeable on China but his attention for the coming year will be helping secure a Brexit deal rather than Asia, according to diplomatic and business representatives.
Jeremy Hunt, the controversial former health secretary who replaced Boris Johnson at the foreign office this week, is patron of the ruling Conservative Party’s “Friends of the Chinese” group, which promotes ties with British-Chinese communities and calls for closer relations between China and Britain.
He married Chinese-born Lucia Guo a decade ago. Also a Japanese speaker, Hunt was a “remainer” during the 2016 referendum that resulted in Britain voting to leave the European Union.
“It is a very positive sign for a global post-Brexit Britain that Jeremy Hunt has been appointed as foreign secretary,” said Jackson Ng, a rising ethnic Chinese Tory politician who is a councillor in Beaconsfield, 37km (23 miles) northwest of London.
“He has been a voice for stronger commercial, educational and cultural links between the UK and China.”