LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – When he was chancellor, Rishi Sunak promised to put restrictions on Beijing and referred to it as the greatest long-term threat to Britain while Liz Truss’ team laid accusations on him cozying up to China during that time.
In a significant hardening of UKs’ policy on China, Mr. Sunak has pledged to shut all 30 of Confucius Institutes of China in the UK if he is elected prime minister.
As ties between the West and China sour, opponents contend that the institutes, which are supported by the Chinese government and intended to be centres for culture and language, are actually propaganda tools.
According to Mr. Sunak, China has violated human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, bullied Taiwan, stolen UK’s technology, infiltrated their universities and suppressed its currency to “continually rig the global economy in their favour.” They have also supported Putin’s fascist invasion of Ukraine.
He also promised to amend the Higher Education Bill to compel British universities to declare any foreign financial agreements with a value greater than £50,000, setting an example for the rest of the world in fighting back against China’s “technological aggression.”
In addition, Mr. Sunak has promised to evaluate all UK-Chinese research collaborations with potential military or technology uses that could help China, as well as to broaden MI5’s remit to better support British companies and academic institutions in the fight against alleged Chinese industrial espionage.
In order to address concerns about the volume of Chinese investment in important industries, he said he will examine if it is necessary to block Chinese acquisitions of important British assets.
He promised to stop China from taking over their universities and to provide British businesses and government organisations with the necessary cyber-security.
And he would with US President Biden and other top world officials to strengthen the West’s resistance to China’s threat, he added.
The “tough on China” announcement, according to Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a supporter of Ms. Truss who is sanctioned by Beijing, is unexpected. He also accused the Treasury, under the direction of Mr. Sunak, of pressing too much for an economic deal with China in the last two years despite serious human rights violations and growing influence in UK universities.
After such a long list, he said, he had one straightforward question: “Where have you been for the past two years?”
Since taking on the post of foreign secretary, Ms. Truss has “strengthened Britain’s position on China” and “helped lead the international reaction to rising Chinese aggression,” and if elected prime minister, she would keep doing so, said a spokesperson for Ms Truss.
Her team said that Mr. Sunak had essentially endorsed himself as prime minister in The Global Times, accusing him of repeatedly supporting Beijing state media and being “soft” on China.
