Beijing hits back as UK leadership contenders sharpen China rhetoric

Both former finance minister Rishi Sunak and his rival, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, have talked tough as they challenge for the top role, framing the United Kingdom as needing to defend its values against China’s influence — and Beijing has taken notice.”I want to make it clear to certain British politicians that making irresponsible remarks about China, including hyping up the so-called ‘China threat,’ cannot solve one’s own problems,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday, when asked in a regular news briefing about comments made by Sunak.SunakThis has amplified a hard line on China within the Conservative Party and ended what was characterized by previous Conservative governments as a “golden” age in China-UK rapport — but Johnson had still sought to keep economic ties open.An article on the election in China’s state-run nationalist tabloid Global Times on Tuesday cited Chinese analysts to warn that Britain would “definitely suffer more” if it “further worsens” its relations with China and “affects the bilateral trade relationship.”The article said “politicians can say whatever they want to get votes” during the election, “but they should also remember what their priorities are after being elected and what will happen if they really deliver on their promises.”When asked in Monday’s debate if they were prepared to damage those trade relations — China was the UK’s single largest importer and its sixth largest export partner last year — both candidates gave few tangible details but framed their answers in terms of values.Truss said European nations had to learn from the “mistakes” they made in becoming too reliant on Russian oil and gas prior to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.”We cannot allow that to happen with China. Freedom is a price worth paying,” she said.Sunak pointed to legislation he had supported to enable the government to block investment from countries and companies deemed inconsistent with British values and interests or to be trying to “infiltrate” its organizations. “As Prime Minister, I’ll take a very robust view on making sure that we do stand up for our values and we protect ourselves against those threats,” he said.CNN’s Jorge Engels contributed to this report.