Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson asks for restraint after Rishi Sunak labels country UK’s ‘biggest long-term threat’
Beijing has urged British politicians to exercise restraint in their comments onAsked about Rishi Sunak’s comments,and pledged to close all UK-based Confucius Institutes, Zhao Lijian, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, declined to offer specific comments, saying the election of the next Tory leader is the UK’s internal affair.
In an attempt to shift focus in the Tory leadership race on to international affairs and national security, both candidates – Sunak and Liz Truss – have issued strong statements on China, portraying the UK’s largest import partner and sixth-largest export partner for goods a “threat”.On Monday, Sunak is expected to say that China “is the biggest-long-term threat to Britain and the world’s economic and national security”, citing the views of the director general of MI5 and head of the FBI.
Until recently, Sunak was perceived by Chinese state media as a more balanced candidate when it comes to China., the state-owned Global Times newspaper said although Beijing did not expect a sea-change in the bilateral relationship under Britain’s new leader, it still hoped the two sides could improve ties. It said Sunak had a “pragmatic view of developing balanced ties with China”.
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