Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles' comments come as US-China ties have become increasingly tense in recent years.
HSBC's head of public affairs has apologised after accusing the British government of being "weak" for complying with US demands to cut back business dealings with China.
Under the Chatham House Rule, attendees of meetings are free to use information gained from discussions, but are not allowed to reveal who made any comments. According to Bloomberg, Sir Sherard told the meeting that one example of the UK caving into US demands was when Britain banned Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from taking part in building the country's 5G mobile phone networks in 2020.
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