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UK Follows US in ‘Upgrading’ Taiwan Ties & Escalating Tensions With China, Analysts Say_我的网站

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一 | Drones zip across city blocks, delivering meals to doorsteps. On factory floors, humanoid robots are put to the test. Streets buzz with electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence (AI) is woven ever deeper into manufacturing, healthcare and urban services. When China hosts the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen this November, delegates will gather in a city that has become one of the country's leading centers for emerging industries. It will be China's third time hosting the event, following Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014. Adjacent to Hong Kong, Shenzhen in Guangdong Province was one of China's first special economic zones and has evolved over the past four decades into a global hub for innovation and advanced manufacturing. It is home to tech heavyweights such as Huawei, Tencent, BYD, DJI, and UBTECH, along with a vibrant community of startups spanning sectors from AI to new energy. In the first half of 2026, the city's trade with other APEC economies rose 33 percent to 1.98 trillion yuan (about 291.6 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 68.8 percent of its total foreign trade. Today, Shenzhen offers a window into China's new growth drivers and their potential to create new opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region. LOW-ALTITUDE ECONOMY Official data show that around 70 percent of China's consumer drones and half of its industrial drones are produced in Shenzhen, home to leading manufacturers including DJI. Shenzhen is also a testing ground for commercial drone applications, from logistics and emergency response to power-grid inspection. Food-delivery giant Meituan opened its first drone-delivery route to customers in Shenzhen years ago. By the end of June 2026, its drones were delivering orders from over 1,500 merchants, including KFC, McDonald's and Chinese tea chain Chagee. To support the industry's growth, Shenzhen has built more than 1,200 low-altitude takeoff and landing facilities and opened 310 logistics routes. Cargo drones completed more than 1 million flights in 2025, up 29 percent from a year earlier. Shenzhen has also led the way in regulation. In 2019, it became the first city in China to introduce local legislation specifically for the management of civilian light and micro drones. NEW ENERGY VEHICLES Shenzhen has emerged as one of China's leading hubs for new energy vehicles (NEVs), backed by strong innovation capabilities and one of the country's most complete industrial ecosystems spanning lithium battery materials, energy storage integration and end-use applications. One of the best-known companies benefiting from this ecosystem is BYD, headquartered in Shenzhen. The automaker sold around 2.26 million electric vehicles (EVs) in 2025, surpassing Tesla in global EV sales last year. Its NEVs are now available in 119 countries and regions. The city is also home to more than 1,400 intelligent-driving companies. Shenzhen is investing heavily in charging infrastructure. In 2023, it launched a drive to become a "city of superchargers," and by 2024, supercharging facilities outnumbered conventional petrol stations. So far, it has built more than 1,200 ultra-fast charging stations with charging power of 480 kilowatts or above. ROBOTS AND AI Last year, a robot 6S store, claimed to be the world's first of its kind, opened in Shenzhen and quickly became a local sensation. Shenzhen has fostered a new generation of robotics companies, including UBTECH, Honor and Leju Robot. By the end of 2025, the city was home to 34 listed robotics companies and nine unicorns. The sector expanded rapidly last year. Humanoid robot production surged 83.1 percent year on year to 343,400 units, while the total robotics industrial output value in the city exceeded 240 billion yuan, up over 20 percent year on year. Shenzhen has more than 2,600 major AI companies, with an industry spanning AI chips, algorithm frameworks and foundation models as well as software and hardware applications. AI-enabled smartphones, translation earbuds, smart glasses and smart toys made in Shenzhen are increasingly reaching both domestic and overseas markets. 。 The timing of the London visit by Taipei’s trade negotiator John Deng was important, says Dr. Victor Teo, political scientist specializing in international relations in the Asia-Pacific, because if China were to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) before the island, “it would mean the certain exclusion of Taiwan from this trade body in the future.”,After the reported trade talks in London on 16 June, Beijing, whose official policy envisions a peaceful unification of Taiwan with Mainland China, was quick to reiterate its stance.,“Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, it is not a country, which is universally recognized by the international community,” a Chinese diplomatic spokesperson was cited by Politico as saying.,The UK Trade Department stopped short of offering any clarifications, while confirming the meeting of its officials with Deng.,The British side was governed by “political and economic interests” when it opted to risk igniting China’s wrath, suggests Dr. Victor Teo.,The trade talks between the UK and Taiwan may also reflect a “change in UK’s policy toward Taiwan as a result of changes in its China policy,” notes Dr. Zhang Baohui, director of the Center for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong.,“The US led this trend by comprehensively upgrading its relations with Taipei since the Trump administration,” says Baohui, adding that Britain tended to tread with caution in its relations with Taiwan in the past. However, now the UK is “adjusting its China policy.”,The clash over Hong Kong, according to Dr. Zhang Baohui, “significantly enhanced their differences and mutual strategic mistrust.”,“For example, it sent an aircraft carrier to the South China Sea last summer, very much to the disliking of Beijing. The UK also formed a new trilateral security mechanism with Australia and the US last year while not naming China as its target. The UK's trade talk with Taiwan could be consistent with this new trend,” he said.,Beijing's reaction to any improper statement such as challenging Taiwan as an inseparable part of China can be expected, insisted Dr. Chang Ching, research fellow at the Taiwan-based Society for Strategic Studies.,However, the British government has a clear policy towards the sensitive One-China issue, the prominent military expert on the People's Liberation Army and regional security in Taiwan noted.,China Urges US to ‘Revoke Arms Sales Plan’ With Taiwan on News of $120 Million Deal for Ship Parts9 June, 20:46 GMT,“In the aspect of trade and commerce, any discussion with representatives from Taipei regarding the participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trading arrangement does not violate the One-China principle kept by Her Majesty's government. Nonetheless, it is originated by a media report and cannot be fully verified as the British official position,” he stated.,Dr. Chang Ching advised against defining such a statement as a “policy shift” within British government diplomacy.,US Provokes China in New Row Over Taiwan17 June, 09:14 GMT,‘Trade With China’ Factor,Regarding the regional fallout from a possible row between the UK and China over Taiwan, it is too early to predict the consequences, according to Dr. Zhang Baohui.,Underscoring that unlike Sino-US relations, Britain and China are not “strategic competitors,” he clarified:,“The UK has already boosted its presence in the region by its new trilateral security pact with Australia and the United States. It has also enhanced defense cooperation with Japan, by jointly developing the next generation jet fighter. However, Britain should have less incentives, compared to the US to have a contentious relationship with China.”,Sino-British relations should not have a major impact on the region in the foreseeable future, Dr. Zhang Baohui concluded.,Any spat over Taiwan would boost tensions in UK-China relations and West-China relations, Dr. Victor Teo suggested, but underscored the “declining economic circumstances” currently being faced by many countries. Accordingly, trade with China would likely become more important, according to him.,“As most Western countries have agreed on the 'One China Principle', it is hard to see how they can persist in promoting Taiwan’s interests steadfastly at the expense of their relationship with China,” Dr. Victor Teo said.,A row between London and Beijing would not affect anything in the region at all, Dr. Chang Ching asserted, adding:,“After all, Beijing is very near and London is too remote."。