They told us so -- China, Covid and Johnson's infinite conflict

The Observer re-runs its editorial on Brexit and the China crisis from last week. Perhaps it is only the website that features Greatest Hits like this? Or is this ideological exhaustion?There is a follow up today, though

As the UK struggles to carve out a post-Brexit role, the Huawei affair has left it exposed, caught between two superpowers who have no respect for an isolated, vulnerable island

Caught in this unlovely triangle, senior government officials are hedging their bets. On the face of it, they satisfied an importunate US last week by banning the Chinese telecoms firm Huawei from doing business in Britain....But as the Observer reports today, they have also privately indicated to Huawei that “geopolitics” is to blame and the decision may be reversible.

Warming to his theme, S.Tisdall says:

Brexit’s big idea was that “global Britain” could chart its own independent, buccaneering course, trading freely with the world. [Cameron and Osborne also wanted far more trade with China, however]  Yet the emerging picture is of a diplomatically isolated, vulnerable country frantically juggling the conflicting demands of bigger players. Some say the curse of Brexit is upon us....What’s left is a post-Brexit UK global strategy that largely boils down to a risky gamble on expanding relationships with two superpowers that don’t rate or respect Britain and which are fiercely at odds with each other. Johnson is reduced to playing piggy in the middle.

However:

in terms of the specific Huawei and Hong Kong problems, still being a member of the EU would not have helped much...Italy joined China’s Belt and Road global trade partnership last year, for example, while Greece promotes itself as China’s import “gateway” to Europe.

The problem, it seems, is actually personal again because while other nations have accomplished statespersons who might eventually reconcile the parties, we only have: 'the infinitely conflicted Johnson'.