Why not then put the skills of our mandarins to work boosting our business interests? The approach may well work across large swaths of the globe, but in one very important country at least, the shift in policy has left the UK extremely vulnerable. By prioritising our commercial interests above all else, including human rights, the UK is storing up trouble for the future in China. Whether or not you feel sympathy for the victims of China's human rights abuses, and whether or not the UK has the power to alleviate any oppression, it is essential that human rights remains a central plank of our relationship with Beijing.