UK Chancellor ignores Tibet issue during China visit, signs agreements worth £600m
By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 13 Dec: The UK’s Chancellor Rachel Reeves has secured agreements worth 600 million pounds over the next five years for the British Economy with China at the 11th UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue on 11th Dec in Beijing with trade and access to Chinese markets taking precedence over Human Rights Concerns in Tibet.
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the UK, has agreed with China’s Premier He Lifeng for “deeper cooperation in trade, financial services, investment and climate issues” worth 600 million pounds over the next five years for the British Economy, reported the BBC.
This will greatly assist in furthering “China’s escalating rush for lithium in the Tibetan plateau without consultation with local Tibetan communities”, as the Tibetan plateau holds 85 % of China’s lithium production. Researchers have warned it also bears “severe consequences on biodiverse areas including regions vital for Tibetan herders”.
Earlier, UK-based Tibetans and Tibet groups presented a joint open letter to the chancellor, urging her to avoid prioritising the economy over human rights issues in occupied Tibet before her visit to China.
The letter particularly highlighted the historic low point for human rights in Tibet under China’s rule. Eighty percent of Tibetan Children as young as four in Tibet are forcefully sent to Chinese boarding schools whereas China’s mega-development project has caused irreversible destruction to Tibet’s ecology with devastating consequences for the riparian and neighboring states.
As anticipated, the UK sought its way out of its economic turmoil at home by strictly talking in terms of its national security as the number one priority during the meeting, negating the human rights crisis in occupied Tibet.
Although both nations have claimed to embrace their positions as major economies working toward ‘the health of the international financial architecture’ and ‘the common goal’, Tibet’s situation clearly remains outside this purported shared vision.
The resumption of the dialogue between the two countries after a hiatus of six years since 2018 is seen as pragmatic cooperation ahead of the US President-elect Donald Trump’s second presidency. A total of 69 mutually beneficial agreements were reached between the two countries, as stated by China’s Premier Lifeng.