But he also struck a conciliatory note, offering to coordinate with Beijing on “addressing climate change, combating infectious diseases, and maintaining regional security to pursue peace and mutual prosperity for the well-being of the people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.”
Lev Nachman, a political science professor at National Taiwan University, told the Telegraph that Mr Lai had taken a “pragmatic tone” and made “reasonable cross-Strait statements” while avoiding “snarky” lines and “cheap jabs at China” that he had used in the past.
However, a reaction from Beijing was likely as it “reacts negatively no matter what”, he said.
“The speech from today didn’t really give China much ammo but Lai’s past comments have so I’m more inclined to think we are still going to see some sort of reaction from the PRC.”
Beijing’s threats towards Taiwan and its increasingly aggressive expansion across the East and South China Seas have created friction with Western nations, including the UK.
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, is expected to visit China next week, in what sources told Reuters was an attempt to seek less confrontational ties with the world’s second-largest economy and to resume trade and investment talks.
British officials say the Labour government wants to recalibrate the more hawkish approach of the previous Conservative administration, which described China as an “epoch-defining challenge”.
However, the Global Times, a Chinese state media outlet, accused the UK of having a “contradictory mindset” by eyeing deeper engagement while also seeking to suppress China.
Mr Lammy was planning to visit in a bid to reset ties while the head of MI5 was “hyping the China threat”, it said, referring to Ken McCallum’s comments this week that China posed a significant risk, particularly in obtaining sensitive information.
Mr McCallum called for a nuanced approach to relations with Beijing during his annual update on threats faced by the UK.
“The UK-China economic relationship supports UK growth, which underpins our security. And there are also risks to be managed,” he said.