.1997-2010 British Policy Towards China And Hong Kong

July 1st, 1997 marks the handover of Hong Kong's sovereignty back to its motherland, Mainland China, the People's Republic of China, and the turning of a new page in Sino-British relations. In the 13 years between 1997 and 2010, there has been three eras of British foreign policy named according to the Prime Minister in power , namely"Blair's era","Brown's era"and"Cameron's era". As Prime Minister of Britain, he/she has the power to form the Cabinet, including the appointment of its ministers and committees and the allocation of different policy-making responsibilities towards each committee. The Prime Minister may decide to withdraw from participation in foreign policy-making, but according to British tradition the Prime Minister is rarely willingly absent from the foreign policy process. Hence, the Prime Minister's influence on foreign policy issues is inevitable, necessary and powerful. Different Prime Ministers may drive different foreign policy, but in British foreign policy there exists underlying principles based on Britain's view of its status in the world, and a realist tradition of the continuity of policy among different political parties in power. Economic gains from China and the protection of British trade and investment within China underlie every era of Britain's China policy. Britain extends its Hong Kong policies of submitting reports on the special administrative area as well as its moral obligation to its six million Hong Kong-British Nationals Overseas. In this paper, we will discuss the three eras of China-UK relations and, using the aspect of policy continuity, compare how British policies towards China and Hong Kong differ in these eras have differed and developed, and conclude that although global circumstances have changed, Hong Kong still retains its crucial strategic role , if not a determining factor, in UK-China relations.