Foreign Secretary David Miliband delivered a keynote speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London where he underlined the importance of UK and EU engagement with China and other major power partners.

The choice for Europe was simple. “Get our act together and make the EU a leader on the world stage; or become spectators in a G2 world shaped by the US and China. But I think that the choice for the UK is also simply stated: we can lead a strong European foreign policy or – lost in hubris, nostalgia or xenophobia - watch our influence in the world wane. “ 

As we moved into a multipolar world he said power was gathering around a few regional centres, not just the USA, but China, India, Brazil.  

People were again starting to talk about an Age of Continents.  “What is clear is that in the modern world size, cohesion and decisiveness matter.   A Britain of 60 million people, however brilliant our armed forces, intelligence services, and diplomats, however distinctive our business and cultural brand, is not going to be a global player of weight and power except through alliances.”

One of the priorities was relationships with the other great and emerging powers, because the EU would only be able to shape the 21st century if it had real partnerships in the great capitals.
“Europe is the world’s largest single market.  China is its fastest growing economy,” he said. “Each is striving for greater energy and resource efficiency. Each must reduce its dependence on imported oil and gas. Both are looking for an exit from today’s crisis that accelerates progress towards the high growth, low carbon economy of tomorrow. 
“The opportunity should be obvious. Working together, harnessing the power and reach of two great economies to push costs down and deploy technology faster, the EU and China could drive a surge in new investment delivering energy, economic and environmental security simultaneously. 
“This would make British jobs and prosperity less vulnerable to the vagaries of international oil markets. We would lower the pressure of rising demand that is currently fuelling a dangerous global scramble for resources. We would be building the global capacity to deliver the commitments we make at Copenhagen. But, above all, we would be demonstrating visibly that the best way to secure national interests at a time of economic anxiety is through co-operation.”

Neither would we be starting from scratch. “China and the EU are already working together to build what will be one of the world’s first full scale power plants that captures and stores its carbon emissions. China and the UK have now established the world’s first low carbon economic zones, to support the development of integrated low carbon supply chains at city and regional level.
“But to protect Britain’s vital interests as the century develops we need to scale up further. The Lisbon Treaty gives us the capacity to build an engagement with China that is truly strategic, coherent, and transformational. We must now use it.”

Click here for the full text of the Foreign Secretary’s speech.

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