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about the author: behemoth

as the essence of a country’s armed forces, the role of the navy is self-evident. in wartime, the navy will form the first line of defense at sea, destroying all invading enemies with its fierce firepower; and in peacetime, the navy can also become an excellent "image ambassador", whether it is a well-equipped ship, they are also well-disciplined sailors, which will greatly enhance the good national image of their country. it is precisely because of this that every naval power in the world is keen on "naval diplomacy", hoping to use this method to demonstrate its majesty as a great power and at the same time serve as a special diplomatic means to enhance friendly exchanges with other countries.

as a young force in the people's army, the chinese people's liberation army navy (hereinafter referred to as the chinese navy) has continued to grow and develop under the test of war since its establishment. step by step, it has moved from coastal waters to the ocean, and ships flying the august 1st military flag have continued to appear. in ports around the world, it shows the world the image of a self-reliant and self-reliant new china. as one of the oldest maritime powers in the world, the british navy's exchanges with the chinese navy can be regarded as a typical microcosm of the history of the chinese navy's foreign exchanges. the exchanges between the two navies not only witness the continuous development and growth of the chinese navy. , and also witnessed the process of continuous closer relations between the two major powers in the east and the west.

a humiliating past

when it comes to the relationship between the british navy and the chinese navy, it must be traced back to more than a century ago in 1840. however, this period of history makes every chinese feel extremely humiliating. this is the "gunboat diplomacy" that once made the british proud. "(gunboat diplomacy）。

starting from the first opium war, the british royal navy (hereinafter referred to as the british navy) used force to knock on the door of china, marking the beginning of china's decline into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. since then, ships flying the union jack have been operating rampantly in china's territorial waters (including internal waters and territorial waters) for more than a century, faithfully safeguarding britain's colonial interests in china. during this period, the crimes committed in china are too numerous to describe, leading to there were a series of horrific tragedies such as the "shaji massacre", "nanjing massacre", and "wanxian massacre". however, as the saying goes "a weak country has no diplomacy", the chinese government at that time was unable to resist and could only allow the british navy to act recklessly in chinese waters.

figure 1. the british royal navy yangtze river gunboat hms seamew anchored on the yangtze river

the history of the british navy's rampage in china came to an end with the outbreak of the pacific war. shortly after the japanese attack on pearl harbor, the japanese issued an ultimatum to the british and american gunboats still anchored on the huangpu river, and then attacked them. british navy "petrel" (HMS Peterelalthough the gunboat no. 1 resisted, it was sunk on the spot when it faced ineffective resistance from the superior japanese navy. except for those who died in action, most of the remaining crew members were captured by the japanese army. after that, a small number of british gunboats that were left in the upper reaches and could not leave the port were given to china by the british government. these "old antiques" could be regarded as witnessing the end of an old era.

however, after experiencing the impact of world war ii, the british national power began to decline. however, the british still looked at china with a cold eye towards china, which was undergoing tremendous changes, and did not take this former "sick man of east asia" seriously. as soon as japan surrendered, britain ignored china's objections and eagerly seized hong kong, a former colony occupied by the japanese army, and continued to send ships to cruise in chinese waters to show its presence. however, on april 20, 1949, the british navy frigate "amethyst" tried to forcefully break through the yangtze river and was blocked by the people's liberation army artillery preparing to cross the river. the "'amethyst' incident" that shocked china and the world broke out. the british only then did people realize that the previous unruly presence in china was a thing of the past, and the british royal navy had no choice but to gradually withdraw from the territorial waters of mainland china, declaring the end of nearly a century of "shell diplomacy" against china.

ice-breaking trip - the british navy's visit to china in 1980

shortly after the end of world war ii, the former anti-fascist allies parted ways, and the iron curtain of the cold war slowly fell. britain, which was severely damaged in world war ii, could only lag behind the united states for the time being. however, the british naturally would not admit their defeat. instead, they continued to look for their own performance stage around the world, and they saw opportunities in china, an emerging power. .

although it belongs to the two camps, the united kingdom, which has always adhered to the diplomatic creed of "there are no permanent friends, only eternal interests," still chose to engage with china after witnessing the continuous development and growth of new china. on january 6, 1950, the united kingdom announced its recognition of the people's republic of china, setting the precedent for major powers in the western camp to recognize new china. on june 17, 1954, china and britain reached an agreement to send agents to each other. since then, the united kingdom has exported a large number of industrial products to china and made a lot of profits from it. in the 1970s, as sino-us relations gradually improved, the western camp set off a wave of enthusiasm for establishing diplomatic relations with new china. at the same time, it relaxed the technology embargo against china and allowed the export of weapons and equipment to china. the british are once again keenly aware of business opportunities. due to long-term technological blockade, the chinese navy's technical level is relatively backward, and it is in urgent need of obtaining equipment and technical support from western countries. as a veteran naval power in the world, the british are bound to get this. however, france, which had always maintained good relations with china, was able to gain the upper hand. on april 1, 1978, france dispatched the guided missile destroyer "dijuan trouan" to visit china, becoming the first western country to visit new china. combat ship, and took this opportunity to actively promote the chinese navy's ship-borne helicopters, sonar, anti-aircraft missiles and other equipment.

seeing that their old rival had taken the lead again, the british decided to seize the opportunity to send ships to visit china. as the first visit to new china, the british navy took great pains. in order to show the importance of this visit and improve the standards, the british navy decided not to visit china with a single ship, but to visit china in a formation of multiple ships, and sent a navy rear admiral jenkin, commander of the first area fleet, serves as the formation commander to take unified command of the visiting ships.

as for the three ships that visited china this time, the british navy also made some choices. in order to show the modern image of the british navy, the ships that visited china must be in perfect condition and well-equipped. in order to adapt to the requirements of ocean routes, the tonnage must also be larger, thus abandoning the older leander (Leander)-class frigates and other ships, and considering the sensitivity and the development level of sino-british relations at that time, the relatively large "sports god" aircraft carrier and other ships were not considered. after much deliberation, the british navy finally decided to use the "coventry" (HMS Coventry) guided missile destroyer, hms antrim (HMS Antrim) guided missile destroyer and uss lively (HMS Alacrity) missile frigates formed a three-ship formation to jointly visit china, with the total number of visiting officers and soldiers reaching 1,033. among them, "antrim" belongs to "county" (County) class large destroyer, which was officially put into service in 1970. at that time, it was the backbone of the british navy, and the "lively" was a type 21 guided missile frigate, a low-cost escort and anti-submarine ship. of course, the most important one is the " "coventry", as the most cutting-edge type 42 destroyer of the british navy at the time, this newly commissioned ship in december 1978 has excellent performance, especially the "sea dart" as its core weapon in air combat (Sea Dart) medium-range ship-to-air missile was the leader in similar weapons at that time. at that time, the chinese navy was unable to fill the gap in demand for ship-to-air missiles due to technical constraints, so it tried to introduce advanced ship-to-air missiles from abroad. at such a point in time, the first overseas military deployment during the service of the "coventry" included a mission to visit china. it can be said that the british, who are well versed in business, are targeting the opportunity to conduct commercial propaganda on the chinese navy. it is inevitable to get such a big order.

figure 2. the british royal navy formation sailing to the far east, from far to near, is the guided missile frigate "lively", the guided missile frigate "antelope", the guided missile destroyer "coventry" and the guided missile destroyer "antrim" destroyer

in early 1980, the fleet officially set sail, passing through east africa, the port of oman, and karachi, pakistan (Karachi) port, singapore port and hong kong, after several months of sailing, the formation sailed into china's territorial waters in september. under the escort of chinese naval vessels, it sailed through wusongkou into shanghai's internal waters, and then sailed all the way into the huangpu river , finally docked at the shanghai port terminal on september 4 and began this trip to china.

figure 3. the destroyer "coventry" docked on the shore, with welcome slogans and banners hanging on the outer walls of the buildings on the shore ("alacriti" is the transliteration of "lively")

as a common practice in naval ship visits, the two sides will organize personnel to exchange visits to the ships. during this period, the british will naturally not forget to promote the type 42 destroyer they were still proud of at the time. in their view, this kind of destroyer could be regarded as the best-performing destroyer in the west except for american products at that time. in addition to the anti-aircraft missiles carried on the ship, the advanced gas turbine as the power and the advanced command and control system of the "soul" of the ship will make the chinese navy envious. in addition, the united states was still wary of china at that time, and the united kingdom had already begun a series of technical cooperation with china. this made them believe that the chinese people who were visiting seriously in front of them would definitely pay generously for it in the future. however, the arrogant british were still arrogant at the beginning and went back on their word. on the eve of the british ship's arrival at shanghai port, they proposed to change the original understanding reached by both parties, shorten the time for the professional visit of the 200 chinese technical personnel to the british ship, and cancel there were some visiting projects, but in the end, with the strong arguments of the chinese navy, the british were forced to agree to carry out various visiting and exchange activities as originally planned. during the visit, these advanced ships opened the eyes of chinese naval officers and soldiers, and they also realized the huge gap between themselves and the world's advanced level at that time.

a british sailor's memories of shanghai

as an 18-year-old sailor, mick daniels (who was serving on the hms coventry) (Mick Daniels) experienced the whole process of the visit. this trip to china was the first time in his life that he set foot on the land of this eastern country. he was curious about everything here, so he kept observing carefully during the visit, and after leaving china then i wrote down such a precious memory.

"this happened during our eight-month deployment in the far east. at our position, i and other members of the formation sailed into china's territorial waters. under the escort of chinese naval ships, our ships it sailed into wusongkou, then sailed all the way into the huangpu river, and finally docked at the shanghai pier.

figure 4. daniels taking photos at shanghai port

“as a member of the formation, i also had the opportunity to tour china together. in this way, through my reckless tour in such a country ruled by a communist regime, i and everyone else were making history.

"just after our ship docked, i saw people on both sides of the huangpu river. i thought there were at least a thousand people, and the crowd stretched for several miles. even on the deck, i could feel the gaze of those people. with our faces.

“finally, we officially landed in shanghai, and we received a warm welcome. local people were waving flags, and banners could be seen flying everywhere. after that, we also experienced an extremely enthusiastic welcome party.

"since this is the first visit after nearly 30 years, in fact it is also a tentative first step to enhance relations between us and china. this time our visit has received great attention, and the news has occupied the country. newspaper headlines. i still remember that our ship was almost full of reporters.

"during this period, we also had some contact with the sailors of the chinese navy. these sailors seemed a little reserved. they did not like to get too close to us, and they did not like us to take pictures of their equipment. however, during the visit, during the process, we were all very well guarded and our safety was completely guaranteed.

figure 5. when the "coventry" visited shanghai, the crew took a group photo on a chinese navy type 62 frigate. the 1st left and the 1st right were the accompanying chinese navy sailors, and the 2nd left was from biddulph. jeff baker, 3rd from left, daniels, 2nd from right, chris clay from blurton, 3rd from right, ray dunn from milehouse ray dunn)

“shortly after we arrived, the chinese held a very grand welcome banquet for us. at this banquet, i tasted chinese food for the first time.

"we all sat at several very large round tables, and each table had a chinese person in charge of reception. there were 11 dishes on the menu, and i will never forget the third dish, which was a braised dish. the sea cucumbers were served with fried rice crackers. when they were brought to the table, the sea cucumbers still looked alive. then they were put into boiling water and served with rice crackers.

"obviously, it would be very rude if i didn't move my chopsticks. so, even though i was very reluctant, i took a few chopsticks. everyone ate sea cucumbers and drank a kind of wine called maotai. the food on the table was quickly wiped out by the local strong liquor.

figure 6. the crew of the "coventry" and the "lively" are visiting, with the ship names printed on the sailors' caps

"during our visit, we were fortunate enough to visit the street scene of shanghai. the former shili foreign market once left a deep impression on westerners, and shanghai, a city that combines chinese and western elements, is also very exotic to us. walking on the street on the way, i found that there were so many people here. i had never seen so many people in the same place. everyone was pushing a bicycle, and everyone seemed to be wearing the same clothes."

figure 7. british sailors having a party, murals with chinese characteristics can be seen on the wall

however, during the visit, some officers and soldiers of the british navy "carried forward" the "tradition" of alcoholism in china, which triggered a series of diplomatic disputes. on one night during the visit, four british navy sailors started a drunken fight at the shanghai seamen's club. after causing trouble, the chinese navy and the foreign affairs bureau of the ministry of national defense lodged stern representations with the british side. in the end, the sailors who caused the trouble were dealt with by the officers on duty on the british ship.

although there were some disharmonious episodes before and after the visit, in general, this visit not only promoted the exchanges between the chinese and british navies, but also played a positive role in the development of sino-british relations, whether it was exchanges with the chinese navy, it was still a visit to shanghai. during this trip to shanghai, these british naval officers and soldiers witnessed with their own eyes a vibrant new china that was completely different from the image rendered by western propaganda machines.

the three ships participating in this visit also had different experiences. in the falklands war two years later, these three ships were all involved in combat. among them, the "antrim" was hit by an argentine fighter plane during the battle. the "coventry" was sunk by an argentine fleet on may 25. a total of 19 officers and soldiers on the ship were killed on the spot and 30 were injured, while daniels mentioned above survived. this battle exposed a series of problems with the type 42 guided missile destroyer, which ultimately led to china's plan to introduce the type 42 guided missile destroyer to be shelved.

riding the wind and waves—the chinese navy’s first visit to the uk in 2001

just before and after the british navy visited china, many more naval ships visited china one after another, and the british navy also visited china many times. although the chinese navy also began to prepare for the visit at the same time, the chinese navy's equipment and technology were backward at that time and were designed for offshore operations. the warships generally have disadvantages such as small tonnage, low self-sustainability, and poor comfort, which are not conducive to ocean navigation. moreover, the ship type and structure are unreasonable. a large number of offshore combat ships occupy the vast majority of the tonnage, while supply ships and other necessary ships for ocean navigation various auxiliary ships, which have long restricted the chinese navy's ocean combat capabilities.

however, by the mid-1980s, a number of new ships and auxiliary ships with certain ocean navigation capabilities began to be built and put into service (in the late 1960s, in order to prepare for the maritime flight measurement and control mission in the upcoming intercontinental missile full flight test, various domestic ships scientific research institutes and manufacturing plants began to design and manufacture various types of ships such as guided missile destroyers, comprehensive supply ships, and ocean-going scientific research ships required for maritime survey escort formations. by the end of the 1970s, they basically formed combat effectiveness, and in may 1980, the test the chinese navy performed well in the test and made outstanding contributions to the complete success of the entire test). the chinese navy has preliminary ocean-going maneuverability, and foreign visits have also been put on the agenda. in 1985, the formation composed of the guided missile destroyer "hefei" and the comprehensive supply ship "poyang lake" paid its first goodwill visit to pakistan, sri lanka and bangladesh, which kicked off the chinese navy's expansion into the world. since then, the chinese navy has spread its footprints across asia, africa, the united states and other continents, showing the world a growing image of china.

however, due to the long distance and complicated sea conditions along the way, the chinese navy has not been able to make a return visit to the uk for a long time. until 2001, the chinese navy visited four european countries, including germany, the united kingdom, france and italy, and the task of visiting the united kingdom for the first time was assigned to the "shenzhen" guided missile destroyer, the most powerful missile destroyer of the chinese navy at the time. this destroyer brought together china's most advanced naval equipment at the time. after serving, it visited various countries around the world as a representative of the chinese navy.

on august 23, 2001, the comprehensive supply ships "shenzhen" and "fengcang" formed a fleet and set off for a visit to europe under the leadership of major general wu fuchun, commander of the fleet and chief of staff of the east china sea fleet. the visit to germany was successfully concluded. afterwards, it arrived at portsmouth, the largest port of the british navy, on september 30 to start a goodwill visit to the united kingdom.

in order to show the importance it attaches to the chinese navy's first visit, the british navy gave the shenzhen the highest standard of welcome with a 21-gun salute when it entered the port. and on the day of arrival at the port, commodore boysard, commander of the british naval base in portsmouth, personally led some british naval officers and soldiers to accompany the then chinese ambassador to the uk ma zhengang, military attache major general yan kunsheng and other chinese personnel to welcome him at the pier, and then boarded the ship in person the "shenzhen" visited wu fuchun and spoke highly of the chinese navy's visit. the two sides exchanged views on strengthening exchanges between the navies of china and britain in a friendly atmosphere.

during their several-day visit, chinese naval officers and soldiers participated in a series of cultural activities in portsmouth. on the afternoon of september 30, some officers and soldiers visited the british navy battleship "victory" (the battle of trafalgar). commander nelson's flagship), hms warrior (the world's first ironclad) and hms mary rose as well as the royal navy museum, you can appreciate the historical heritage of the british navy for hundreds of years, and some officers and soldiers went to portsmouth city and london sightseeing tours.

the first visit of the chinese navy attracted the attention of many british people. they came to the port one after another and visited these chinese naval ships that came from afar with curiosity. for overseas chinese and students, they are even more excited and proud to witness the glory of the motherland's navy thousands of miles away in the uk, especially the guided missile destroyer "shenzhen", known as the "no. 1 ship in china". on the day of the fleet's visit, about 400 people came to attend the welcome ceremony. in the following days, a large number of overseas chinese came to visit and witness with their own eyes the progress made by the chinese navy.

of course, such a voyage would never be smooth sailing. during the subsequent voyage to italy, the formation experienced a test of severe winds and waves in the bay of biscay. although the officers and soldiers of each ship have reinforced various mobile items on the ship and are prepared to resist the wind, when the sea surface wind increased to level 9 and the gust reached level 10, the ships were still surrounded by dangers. the flagship "shenzhen" the number was particularly severely affected by wind and waves. at the critical moment, the captain of the "shenzhen" li xiaoyan and the political commissar xiao huailiang gave a speech through the ship's internal broadcast system, encouraging the officers and soldiers on the ship to stick to their posts. the officers and soldiers of key departments such as navigation, engineering, and communications stayed at their posts despite the wind and waves, ensuring that the facilities on the ship were maintained. safety. after two days and nights of tenacious struggle, the formation safely crossed the bay of biscay and successfully completed the rest of the voyage.

the visit lasted for nearly three months from august 23 to november 16 and was a complete success. it is worth mentioning that during the entire visit, chinese naval officers and soldiers participated in various local activities in the visiting country on many occasions. all participants have maintained strict discipline, abided by local laws, and did not engage in illegal crimes such as drunkenness, fighting, picking quarrels and provoking troubles. this behavior has demonstrated the good image of the chinese navy as a "mighty and civilized force" and has been praised by all countries. this is also in sharp contrast to the sailors of some other countries who frequently cause trouble in other countries.

renewing friendship - chinese navy visits the uk in 2007

after the end of the cold war, the domestic and international situations faced by china have not diminished. some hegemonic countries, led by the united states, have frequently used the taiwan issue and sovereignty disputes in the east china sea and south china sea to put pressure on china. building a powerful navy has become urgent. in order to make up for the gap with the world's advanced level at that time, the chinese navy insisted on independent research and development and established a series of high-precision weapons and equipment. on the other hand, it also followed the path of "borrowing" and imported advanced equipment from russia and other countries. a large number of advanced equipment and technologies are used to strive to form reliable combat effectiveness in the shortest possible time. after entering the 21st century, china's economy has entered a new round of rapid development. the booming economy has provided sufficient material support for the modernization of the military. at the same time, a large number of research projects have come to fruition, and new equipment developed has begun to be put into production. a more capable and modern chinese navy began to appear in front of the world. as the saying goes, "wars are used to stop wars, and troops are used to eliminate troops." chinese naval ships flying the august 1st military flag began to appear frequently in the world's oceans, showing the powerful image of china to the world.

in 2007, the chinese navy guided-missile destroyer "guangzhou" and the comprehensive supply ship "weishanhu", led by rear admiral su zhiqian, the formation commander and deputy commander of the south china sea fleet, set off from sanya port for russia, the united kingdom, spain, france visited four countries, during which it planned to visit portsmouth port again. after a lapse of 6 years, we are also visiting the uk. however, the difference from last time is that the ships dispatched this time are all cutting-edge ships of the chinese navy. among them, the "guangzhou" has a simple and elegant shape, and the hull has fully introduced a stealth design. it is also equipped with the most advanced weapons and electronic equipment. it is a new generation of general-purpose destroyer of the chinese navy. the "weishanhu" is also the latest generation of comprehensive supply ship of the chinese navy. compared with previous generations, it is both seaworthy and the safety, type and speed of supply supplies have all been significantly improved. not only the equipment, but also the appearance of chinese navy soldiers is more majestic - during the voyage, all officers and soldiers were uniformly wearing the latest 07-style naval uniforms.

after concluding its visit to russia, the fleet sailed into portsmouth harbor on september 6. when the fleet entered the port, it was once again warmly welcomed by the british navy. the then chinese ambassador to the uk fu ying and a large number of overseas chinese and student representatives attended the reception and took photos with the visiting officers and soldiers.

figure 8. when the "guangzhou" sailed into portsmouth harbor, the officers and soldiers on the ship lined up on the starboard side of the ship to perform a standing ceremony.

during the visit, the "guangzhou" held an open house, and some cabins and weapons and equipment were on public display. during the opening period, some british naval officers and overseas chinese visited the most advanced destroyer of the chinese navy. under the guidance and explanation of the officers and soldiers on the ship, they had a certain understanding of the performance of the ship. compared with before, the chinese navy has improved the performance of the ship. it is more open in terms of external exchanges, which also reflects the chinese navy's confidence and mind after its strength has increased.

this visit attracted a large number of interviews from chinese and foreign media. after close contact with the visiting chinese naval ships, many british observers whose thinking was still stuck in the soviet-style era began to keenly realize that these two ships represent a new trend. the previous guided-missile destroyer "shenzhen" could only be regarded as the chinese navy's exploration of modern ship design. the overall technical level was only equivalent to the level of western countries in the early 1990s. however, the current guided-missile destroyer "guangzhou" is not as advanced in design. it is closer to the stealth trend emphasized by the western mainstream and can already be compared with the active warships and even the latest warships of european and american countries. the "weishanhu" comprehensive supply ship reflects the chinese navy's urgent need for ocean mobility, whether it is its own the navigation performance and supply efficiency are not the same as those of previous ships. the chinese navy is currently undergoing a huge change. the successive entry into service of a series of new ships represented by the "guangzhou" and the "weishanhu" will quickly replace the original series of backward ships, making the chinese navy a a true "blue water navy".

one goes and the other goes - the story behind the mutual visits between the chinese and british navies

just after 1980, the british navy visited china many times, which to a certain extent became a "barometer" of sino-british relations. on july 11, 1986, the british navy destroyer "manchester" and the guided missile frigate "admiral" visited shanghai again. the naval officers and soldiers of both sides carried out a series of exchange activities. however, in the late 1980s, the relationship between china and the western camp took a turn for the worse, and naval exchanges it was not until the mid-1990s, as sino-british relations began to improve, that naval exchanges gradually became closer. on october 7, 1996, the guided missile destroyer "exeter" visited qingdao, which was also the first time for the british navy to visit qingdao. visiting qingdao, on march 13, 1999, the guided missile frigate "boxer" visited shanghai, bringing an end to the exchanges between the chinese and british navies throughout the 1990s.

after entering the new millennium, with the rapid development of china's economy, the british government began to strengthen its relations with china and attached great importance to the exchanges between the chinese and british militaries, especially the navies. the british navy's visits to china experienced a small peak on august 16, 2000. on may 24, 2003, the british navy's guided missile frigate "cornwall" and guided missile destroyer "newcastle" visited shanghai and qingdao respectively. this was also the first time that the british navy visited two chinese naval ports at the same time. on may 24, 2003, the british navy the navy's guided missile destroyer "liverpool" and the supply ship "gray drifter" formed a formation to visit shanghai. a year later, the "gray drifter" and the guided missile destroyer "exeter" formed a formation to visit shanghai and qingdao. it also conducted a joint search and rescue exercise with the chinese navy's guided-missile destroyer "harbin" and the "hongzehu" comprehensive supply ship off the coast of qingdao. this was also the first time that the chinese and british navies held a joint military exercise. on august 30, 2005, the destroyer "york" visited zhanjiang. on october 19, 2006, the guided missile frigate "westminster" visited shanghai. in 2008, the british navy guided missile frigate "hms kent" visited qingdao.

it is worth mentioning that, in contrast to the speed of progress of the chinese navy, the british navy has not achieved significant development due to various reasons after the end of the cold war. both the number and quality of its ships are no longer the world's largest navy. the grand occasion has gradually widened the gap with the navies of western countries such as the united states and france, which can also be seen from the british navy ships visiting china. the vast majority of these ships were built in the mid-to-late cold war and the 1990s, and some such as the "exeter" are more than 20 years old.

in 2010, the majority party in the british house of commons changed. david cameron, who led the conservative party to win a majority of seats, became the 53rd prime minister of the united kingdom. due to the aftermath of the global economic crisis, the new british prime minister led by cameron the government actively promotes trade with china, hoping to promote british economic development. just a few months after taking office, cameron himself made his first visit to china since taking office on november 9. during his tenure, sino-british relations continued to maintain a good momentum of development. the british navy also visited china after a lapse of five years in 2013. it visited china again in december 2016. this time, to show the importance it attached to the visit, the british navy specially sent its most cutting-edge type 45 guided missile destroyer hms brave to visit shanghai. this was also the first visit to china by this type of destroyer. although the advanced radar, anti-aircraft missiles and power systems on this ship still attract a lot of people's attention, compared with the differences that existed between the chinese and british navies when the "coventry" visited 30 years ago, this ship the ship can no longer be called "amazing".

it is worth mentioning that during the several-day visit to china, the officers and soldiers on the ship also held a memorial ceremony to commemorate the officers and soldiers who died in the "haiyan" which was sunk by the japanese army in 1941. to a certain extent, this can be regarded as a memory of the compatriots who fought bloody battles. however, holding such a ceremony on chinese soil reminds us of that period of history. it cannot but be said that the british subconsciously did not remember that period of " "glory days". in the end, taking into account china's position, the commemoration ceremony was completed quietly on the ship.

figure 9. the "brave" sailing into the shanghai pier

one year later, on january 12, 2015, the 18th escort taskforce of the chinese navy visited portsmouth port. this visit also created the largest scale and quality of the chinese navy's visit to the uk. among them, the "yuncheng" missile frigate is the latest type 054a frigate of the chinese navy. compared with previous generations of frigates, it has larger tonnage and better seaworthiness. it has a comprehensive stealth design and has lower radar and infrared signal characteristics. , the weapon configuration is relatively balanced, with strong air defense and anti-submarine capabilities, while improving the cabin layout and optimizing habitability; the "changbaishan" dock landing ship is currently the largest landing ship of the chinese navy, and also adopts a stealth design, which is similar to the u.s. navy's "san antonio" class is similar. it can not only carry air-cushion landing craft, but also carry several helicopters to achieve "three-dimensional landing", changing the inherent mode of previous landing operations and greatly improving the efficiency of troop delivery; while the "chaohu" comprehensive supply the ship is the latest comprehensive supply ship. not only is the supply equipment configuration in line with international standards, but it can also receive various dry and liquid cargoes at sea. it has also added a medical area, including an operating room, a medical room, an inspection room, a disinfection room, x-ray room and dark room, medical equipment room, dental treatment room, double isolation ward and double ward, etc., can meet the general surgical needs and meet the needs of the formation equipment and personnel during long-term ocean voyages. this is nothing more than liu xiaoming, the then chinese ambassador to the uk, who proudly declared at the reception for the 18th chinese navy escort taskforce to visit the uk that these three ships "represent the cutting-edge level of china's naval equipment and represent the history of china's naval construction." sexual leap”.

figure 10. three chinese naval ships anchored in portsmouth harbor, with the ironclad hms warrior below.

the british navy still gave a high-level welcome to the visits of these chinese naval ships. however, in the face of the rapid development of the chinese navy, many british people have mixed feelings deep in their hearts. on the one hand, their country's navy is no longer in glory; on the one hand, the former "sick man of east asia" has now grown into a powerful maritime force. this complex mentality can probably be described by the title of the "daily mail" report: "three huge warships in the royal navy's home port of ports mouth sparked cheers. it's a pity that this is a chinese warship, not a british one."

from "sea without defense" to "both offense and defense", from various "iwc" small ships to today's hundreds of modern ships, the chinese navy has experienced nearly 70 years of rapid development and is gradually moving towards the world's oceans. after the end of world war ii, especially after the end of the cold war, the size of the british navy continued to shrink, from being the world's largest in the past to a regional naval power. comparing the two, the reason is clear at a glance, and the history of exchanges between the chinese navy and the british navy has also witnessed each other's development, which can be regarded as a special explanation.