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By Jia Cheng British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced on Wednesday a new strategic shift in diplomacy that would see five more embassies opened around the world and more diplomats deployed in Asia, in a bid to enhance the country's diplomatic influence and secure trading ties with emerging economic powers. "The only way to increase our national prosperity and secure our growth for our economy is through trade, and our embassies play a vital role in supporting British business," Hague said in a statement published on the official website of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The new strategy will be partly funded by ￡100 million ($163 million) of planned cuts in running costs at other embassies, and up to ￡40 million ($65 million) cuts in the costs of various programs, the Guardian reported on Wednesday. John Gallagher, press officer at the British embassy in Beijing, told the Global Times that the British government will send up to 50 additional officials to China, and their work distribution would be known after they arrive in the country. The move can be seen as a sweeping reorganization of Britain's foreign services over the next four years, he added. According to the statement, the British government will also send about 30 diplomats to India, and make a substantial expansion of its diplomatic strength in Brazil, Turkey, Mexico and Indonesia. "It was the biggest strategic diplomatic advance by Britain in decades," BBC News quoted Hague as saying, adding the redeployment of diplomats will support the British economy and help British businesses access markets abroad. Kerry Brown, a China expert with the London-based Royal Institute of International Affairs, told the Global Times that seizing economic opportunities and global investment are major diplomatic goals for Britain. In recent years, the economic slowdown in the country has pushed the government to turn to foreign markets. The Chinese market, one of the emerging economic powers in Asia, would be the best opportunity for Britain, he added. In 2008, David Miliband, Hague's predecessor, also urged a shift of resources away from Europe to China and India, and called for "laptop diplomats" who could be sent to remote areas and trouble spots where they could function independently without the need for embassies or consulates, BBC News said. Sun Wei, Wang Jia and agencies contributed to this story |
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