u3a Monthly Talk: UK-China Relations in a Trump-XI World

Monthly Talks are usually held on the first Thursday in the month (except August) and start at
10.30 am.. Doors open at 9.45 am. for coffee.

Admission is free for members but a donation of £5 for non-members.

Talks take place at:
The Pavilion, North Parade Road, Bath BA2 4EU

4 September 2025:
UK-CHINA RELATIONS IN A TRUMP-XI WORLD
by George Magnus, Research Associate Oxford University China Centre

The disruptive geopolitical churn, trade conflict, uneasy truces and
global fragmentation, affect our well-being and confidence in our
prospects.

China and the United States are centre stage, but the EU and the
United Kingdom and so many other nations are very much bound
into the upending of the world trade and commerce system.

While President Trump’s administration has shaken the world system
with his mercurial tariff policies, it is easy to forget the role that
China played in undermining the global trade system in the first
place, and to gloss over the pushback it is now receiving.

George Magnus, seasoned China watcher, will discuss the
significance, causes and consequences of these developments on
the world stage, and how the new British government, a year in the
saddle, is trying to manage the UK’s important relationship with
China. The speaker will assess if we are being too cautious or if we
have got it about right?

George Magnus, who lives between Bath and Bradford on Avon, is a
long serving China and global economy watcher and writer, and was
formerly Chief Economist at UBS for over 2 decades. He is a research
associate at Oxford University’s China Centre and at SOAS in London,
and a member of the advisory board of the China Observatory at the
Council on Geostrategy.

Approximate end time; check with organiser.