Kemi Badenoch

### Who is Kemi Badenoch?

In the article, Kemi Badenoch is described as a representative of Britain at the World Trade Organization and a key figure in British trade and economic policy. She has held positions such as Business Secretary and Trade Secretary, where she has been actively involved in promoting free trade, securing investments in the UK automotive industry, and working to protect the British economy from what she views as unfair competition from China. She was also involved in strengthening trade ties with Taiwan and leading negotiations for the UK to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

### List the various points on which Kemi Badenoch attacks China.

1. **Unfair Competition**: Badenoch accuses China of unfairly subsidizing its industries, particularly electric vehicle (EV) production, to flood the market with cheap products and undercut other countries' industries.

2. **Intellectual Property Theft**: She states that China gains a technical advantage by stealing intellectual property.

3. **Economic Coercion**: She expresses concern about China's use of economic power to coerce other nations, with Taiwan mentioned as the most vulnerable due to its proximity and economic interdependence with China.

4. **Market Flooding**: China is accused of deliberately flooding markets, such as in the case of solar modules, to dominate the market and harm other countries' industries.

5. **Human Rights Violations**: The article points out that much of the polysilicon used in solar panels is produced in Xinjiang, a region with serious allegations of forced labor and human rights abuses.

6. **Dominance in Critical Materials**: China’s control over the mining and production of rare earth minerals and the majority of battery cell production capacity is seen as a strategic threat, allowing China to lead in sectors like electric vehicle production.

7. **Environmental Hypocrisy**: Badenoch criticizes China's ongoing construction of coal-fired power stations, implying that it undermines global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

### Look up the CPTPP and its importance for Britain.

The **Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)** is a major free trade agreement among 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Canada, Australia, and others. For Britain, joining the CPTPP is significant because it offers access to a large and dynamic market, diversifying trade away from reliance on Europe post-Brexit. The agreement can help the UK strengthen economic ties with fast-growing economies in the Indo-Pacific, promote high trade standards, and reduce dependence on any single market, such as China.

### Explain KB’s argument that ‘sadly net zero has made [Britain’s] dependency worse’.

Kemi Badenoch argues that the UK's commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 has inadvertently increased its economic dependency on China. This is because the push for renewable energy, such as solar power and electric vehicles, has led to a higher demand for products in which China dominates the market:

- **Solar Panels**: The UK imports a significant proportion of its solar panels from China, where production is cheaper and sometimes linked to forced labor. By prioritizing solar energy without a strategy to build domestic production capacity, the UK becomes more reliant on China.

- **Electric Vehicles**: China’s dominance in the production of rare earth minerals and battery cells makes it a key supplier in the global EV market. As the UK moves toward EVs to meet net-zero targets, it inadvertently strengthens China's economic position.

- **Export of Emissions**: Badenoch suggests that the reduction in the UK's carbon emissions is partly due to the outsourcing of manufacturing to countries like China. While this might reduce emissions locally, it contributes to higher emissions globally, given China’s heavy reliance on coal-fired power plants.

### How does Kemi Badenoch aim to present herself in this column?

Kemi