Donald Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro warned global economies of risk ‘with respect to exposure to China’ and said that if “Chinese vampire” cannot suck the American blood then it will suck the UK and EU blood.
He accused the United Kingdom of being “an all too complaint servant of the Chinese Communist Party” due to the gifts with strings that Beijing presents as a way to spread its soft power.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Navarro advised the British government to resist the “string-laden gifts” and avoid becoming a “dumping ground” for Chinese goods that can no longer be sold to the US.
‘Chinese vampire going to suck UK, EU blood’
The White House official’s remarks come in the backdrop of the raging trade war between China and the US, which broke out in the aftermath of the sweeping reciprocal tariffs announced President Donald Trump.
At present, Trump has slapped a 245 per cent tariff on Chinese exports, to which, Beijing has responded with 125 per cent levies on American exports.
“If the Chinese vampire can’t suck the American blood, it is going to suck the UK blood and the EU blood,” Navarro was quoted as saying, adding that this is a “very dangerous” time for global economies with respect to exposure to Beijing.
Similar to the doubts of many officials in the Trump administration, Peter Navarro also holds suspicion over China’s investment in UK property, infrastructure and money markets.
Let’s face it, Trump’s tariff tsar said, “the UK has been an all too compliant servant of the Chinese Communist Party because of the string-laden gifts that China gives as a way of spreading its soft power.”
It is also notable that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have both taken trips to China in the recent months as part of Keir Starmer-led Labour government’s campaign for “pragmatic re-engagement” with Beijing.
Both the leaders have pressed on the need for a stable relationship between Britain and China, saying that such a state could £1 billion to UK’s economy over the next five years, The Telegraph report mentioned.
UK-China Trade
As per the factsheet released on May 2 by the government on trade and investments between the UK and China, total trade in goods and services in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2024 stood at £98.4 billion.
Total UK exports to China were at £29.7 billion in the four quarters to the end in 2024, while the total imports from China amounted to £68.7 billion.
It said that China was Britain’s “5th largest trading partner” in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2024, making up for 5.5 per cent of UK’s total trade.
UK-US trade talks
Peter Navarro suggested that the trade talks between the US and UK in the backdrop of the American president’s reciprocal tariffs were moving “in Trump time, which is to say as swiftly as possible”.
Navarro was a key force behind the Trump tariffs, which were reportedly intended towards isolating China, and bringing a new balance to the global commerce. Following the levies, shipments of goods from Beijing to the US also took a plunge.
Trump’s trade advisor further stated that with US trying to get “fairness from the biggest cheater (China)”, Britain and the EU must keep vigilance about becoming Chinese goods’ dumping ground, that would have been otherwise sold to Washington.
Navarro particularly fears about the UK being compromised. He referred to Chinese brand Shein’s focus on London for its controversial IPO and Reeves’ statement calling the UK capital as the “natural home” of China’s money and said, “Beware of authoritarian mercantilist regimes bearing gifts.”
Amid growing backlash over his tariffs, Trump had announced a 90-day pause to allow nations to negotiate and reach trade deals with the US. However, he left China out of this halt and instead hiked the tariff levied on Beijing.
Officials have reportedly said that Asian nations like India, South Korea, and Japan can help isolate China.
The UK is closely following these nations as its trade with the US is almost balanced, making it an easier deal.
Navarro said he couldn’t make any comments on the US-UK talks, other than what to expect in case London doesn’t loosen up its stance on food standards. His remarks are in reference to the British government’s current ban on hormone-treated beef of chlorine-washed chicken which, as a result, rules out these imports from the US.
Following Navarro’s remarks, a UK government spokesperson told the Telegraph that they “will always take a clear-eyed and strategic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China”.
“Our approach to international trade will remain to enhance the UK’s long term prosperity, while never comprising on economic and national security,” it added.
