rime Minister Rishi Sunak said “short-termism” or “sentimentality” will not help Britain stand up to global competitors like Russia or China.

In his first major foreign policy speech, Mr Sunak indicated to international dignitaries and business leaders on Monday he would set a fresh direction for the UK’s place in the world, after the premierships of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

Mr Johnson and Ms Truss were seen as taking more combative approaches with allies such as the French president Emmanuel Macron, but in his speech Mr Sunak promised better relations with Europe amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

In the speech at the annual Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London’s Guildhall, Mr Sunak reiterated Government criticism of the arrest of a BBC journalist covering Covid protests in China.

He said: “Russia is challenging the fundamental principles of the UN Charter. China is consciously competing for global influence using all the levers of state power.

“In the face of these challenges, short-termism or wishful thinking will not suffice. We can’t depend on Cold War arguments or approaches, or mere sentimentality about our past.”

Describing the need for an “evolutionary leap” in British strategy, he said it would require “being stronger in defending our values and the openness on which our prosperity depends”.

“It means delivering a stronger economy at home, as the foundation of our strength abroad. And it means standing up to our competitors, not with grand rhetoric but with robust pragmatism.

“We will do all this not only through our diplomatic expertise, science and technology leadership, and investment in defence and security, but by dramatically increasing the quality and depth of our partnerships with like-minded allies around the world.