http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,1741109,00.html?gusrc=rss
Jack
Straw, the foreign secretary, is to set out a new direction for British foreign
policy today that will shift the balance towards the growing economies of China
and India.
Mr Straw will be speaking at a "leadership conference" in
London of 200 British ambassadors, high commissioners, governors and other
Foreign Office staff brought back from their posts worldwide. As well as his
speech, a 60-page government white paper is to be published on the future of
diplomacy.
In the last white paper two years ago, only two paragraphs were devoted to
China and India. Since then, there has been growing recognition that China is
almost certain to be one of the dominant economic forces of the 21st century and
a challenge to the US's superpower status. India too is emerging as a powerhouse
and being courted by the US as a possible counterweight to China.
The
white paper, An Active Diplomacy for a Changing World, comes only weeks after
Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, announced a redeployment of
diplomatic staff away from Europe to China and India and to Muslim countries in
the Middle East and Asia where hostility towards the US has grown. A similar
shift in priorities is taking place in Britain.
The Foreign Office has frequently been sidelined by Downing Street since Tony
Blair took office particularly in the run-up to the Iraq war. As well as the 200
overseas representatives, the London gathering will be attended by 150
London-based Foreign Office staff. Diplomats will have the opportunity
throughout the day-long event to challenge Mr Straw and his ministerial
colleagues, Sir Michael Jay, the most senior diplomat, and Sir Gus O'Donnell,
the cabinet secretary.
The event is closed to the media, other than Mr Straw's opening speech. The
white paper will stress a need for British diplomats to pay more attention to
issues such as climate change and diminishing energy supplies.
It will also emphasise a need for better consular services after criticism by
expatriates and holidaymakers in the wake of the Asian tsunami and other
catastrophes.