Sam Hogg ran the newsletter, Beijing to Britain, from 2020-2024 and was Head of Policy Engagement at Oxford China Policy Lab from 2025-2026. He is now researching AI risk and biosecurity.
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New frontiers
In November 2023, the world’s two most powerful countries – the US and China – travelled thousands of miles to meet in a centuries-old English country estate at the invitation of a British prime minister. In a room warmed by an old crackling fireplace, Beijing and Washington joined two dozen countries and leading technology companies to thrash out the Bletchley Declaration.
Alongside their fellow signatories, China and the US accepted a shared starting point: advanced artificial intelligence (AI) could create huge wealth and push our species forward. But critically, it could also cause serious, even catastrophic, harm. As delegates began their journeys home, British officials patted themselves on the back. The first-ever AI Safety Summit had been a success.
Why did these two nations – engaged in a bitter trade conflict as the world’s first and second powers – come to the UK? And what can their presence teach us about where Britain positions itself between these powers?
