Cameron faces foreign policy tests

Having won an unexpected victory in the May 7 general election, British Prime Minister David Cameron now faces a number of major foreign policy challenges including relations with China.

During his first term, Cameron's relations with China got off to a rocky start after he angered Beijing by meeting the Dalai Lama. This led to a year-long freeze in high-level contacts with China and a change in the United Kingdom's approach. Cameron refocused British foreign policy more toward commercial diplomacy with UK overseas missions told to make promoting British exports their top priority, which led to a 40 percent increase in British exports to China over the past five years.

Another priority was to attract Chinese investment, which too has been very successful with China investing in major infrastructure projects, including Heathrow Airport, Thames Water and a new civilian nuclear plant.