In an attempt to reset the relationship the government is refusing to describe China as a national security threat despite evidence to the contrary

Once, before the election, Labour’s approach to China was forthright. The party promised to declare China’s systematic repression of its Uyghur Muslim minority as a genocide. Its MPs united to support a genocide amendment to a 2021 trade bill, voting with Tory rebels and only failing to defeat Boris Johnson’s government by 11 votes.

But in the past week recriminations have swirled after the prosecution of two Britons accused of spying for China was dropped. A refusal by the government to describe China as a national security threat has reinforced Labour’s already softened approach to Beijing and sharpened focus on the figure at its heart: Keir Starmer’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell.