Beijing and Pyongyang announced a rare face-to-face meeting between President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a move that has sent ripples through the corridors of Western diplomacy. The summit, scheduled for next week, marks the first such encounter since the pandemic severed cross-border travel. As the Chinese leader prepares to travel to the hermit kingdom, Britain has quietly strengthened its naval presence in the Indo-Pacific, deploying HMS Queen Elizabeth to joint exercises with Japan and South Korea.
For the working families of Manchester and Hull, these distant geopolitical manoeuvres may seem remote. But the price of a loaf of bread, the security of a steelworker's job, and the cost of a tank of petrol are all tied to the stability of the global order. The foreign office insists the British deployment is about upholding international law and ensuring freedom of navigation.
Cynics might note the timing: a display of resolve as Beijing deepens ties with a regime that tests missiles over Japan. The union movement, still smarting from the post-Brexit trade deals, watches with unease. Our government talks a good game on workers' rights, but who will pay for these warships?"
asked John Smith, a shop steward at a Sunderland shipyard. The Treasury has yet to quantify the cost of the expanded Pacific mission. Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry called the Xi-Kim talks a "
contribution to peace", though no agenda has been released. For the North Korean people, facing chronic food shortages, the visit may bring vital aid.
For Britons, the question is whether our leaders can balance global ambition with the cost-of-living crisis at home. The chancellor has ruled out new funding for the deployment, suggesting the defence budget will be shuffled. That means less money for schools, hospitals, and the crumbling public realm.
As the steel gates of Pyongyang swing open for President Xi, the gates of Downing Street remain closed to pleas for a fairer economy. The real cost of this pageantry will be paid in the pockets of ordinary people.
