It is hard to miss the optics. Western leaders, once at the forefront of efforts to "contain" China, are now lining up to engage Beijing, openly and pragmatically. US President Donald Trump's disruptive approach has shaken the foundations of the so-called rules-based international order and China appears to be quietly stepping into the diplomatic vacuum.

Following a recent visit by the Canadian prime minister, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer undertook a trip to China, the first by a UK premier in eight years. Not long ago, Starmer himself had described China as a "national security threat," echoing a bipartisan consensus in the West that viewed Beijing primarily through the prism of rivalry and risk. Yet in Beijing, the tone was markedly different. London and Beijing signed a series of agreements aimed at resetting ties, expanding economic cooperation and reopening political channels that had largely frozen.

The reaction from Washington was swift and sharp. President Trump publicly warned that the UK doing........

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