The UK’s relationship with China has swung through various degrees of warmth in recent years, but there have been some recurring themes. When David Cameron and George Osborne hailed the “golden era” of UK-China relations more than a decade ago, critics accused the pair of naivety and even recklessness.

Nick Timothy, who would go on to serve as Chief of Staff to Theresa May and become a Tory MP, warned in 2015 that the government was “selling our national security to China.” The Intelligence and Security Committee made the same warnings, albeit in more bureaucratic language.

In the end, the “golden era” didn’t last long but China’s economic........

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