LONDON, NOV 29:  The so-called “golden period” of relations with China is finished, according to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who promised to “adapt” his country’s policy toward it.

According to the BBC, he described the deeper economic connections of the previous decade as “naive” in his first address on foreign policy.

He asserted that in order to compete effectively, the UK must now replace wishful thinking with “strong pragmatism.”

However, he cautioned against “Cold War rhetoric,” saying that China’s importance for the world must not be disregarded, according to the BBC.

Since taking over as Tory leader and UK Prime Minister last month, Sunak has come under pressure from conservative backbenchers to take a more aggressive approach against China.

The address was given at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London and comes following protests over China’s stringent Covid shutdown restrictions over the weekend.

A BBC reporter was detained by police on Sunday while covering a protest in Shanghai. Police have also made a number of arrests. The police allegedly battered and kicked him during his arrest and kept him for several hours before releasing him.

Business executives and international policy specialists in the audience were informed by Sunak that China has “decided to crack down further, including by assaulting a BBC journalist,” in response to the protests.

As China progresses toward even greater authoritarianism, he stated, “We recognise China poses a systemic risk to our values and interests, a challenge that grows increasingly acute.”

The “golden period” of UK-China ties and the “naive belief” that more commerce with the West would result in Chinese political reform, he continued, were “gone.”

Sunak did emphasise, according to the BBC, that “we cannot simply disregard China’s centrality in world affairs – to global economic stability or issues like climate change.(PHN)