HSBC’s head of public affairs has apologised for saying the UK government had been “weak” by giving in to US pressure to cut back on its dealings with China.
Sherard Cowper-Coles, a former British ambassador who also chairs the lobby group the China-British Business Council, made the comments at a private event in London in June, Bloomberg News reported. He said the UK should follow its own interests rather than simply accept the US’s position.
The comments illustrate the difficulty that HSBC faces as it attempts to straddle east and west at a time of rising geopolitical tension. The bank is based in London, makes most of its money in Hong Kong and China, and depends on the US for its dollar clearing licence, which underpins its huge global trade financing business.