China is the biggest threat to the world, if I become PM, I will take action on the first day
Indian-origin Rishi Sunak, who is in the race to become the Prime Minister of Britain, promised on Sunday that he would take a tough attitude towards China if he becomes the next Prime Minister of Britain. He described China as the “biggest threat” to regional and global security. The former finance minister’s statement comes at a time when her rival Liz Truss, in the final leg of the race to lead the Conservative Party, accused her of being “weak” towards China and Russia.
China’s state-run Global Times had earlier said Sunak was the only candidate in the contest with a clear vision on developing UK-China relations, AFP reported. In support of the truss, DailyMail said that ‘no one wants such support’. Sunak’s proposals include the closure of all 30 Confucian institutions in Britain, curbing the growing spread of China through culture and language programmes.
Plan to form a NATO-like alliance against China
Sunak promised to “pull the CCP (Communist Party of China) out of the country’s universities” by forcing higher education institutions to disclose more than $60,000 in foreign funding and review research partnerships. He said Britain’s internal intelligence agency MI5 would be used to prevent Chinese espionage and that he would also seek to form a “NATO-like” international coalition to deal with Chinese threats in cyberspace.
Sunak rained on ‘Belt and Road’ scheme
Sunak claimed that China is stealing our technology and infiltrating our universities, “promoting” Vladimir Putin by buying Russian oil and also trying to threaten its neighbors like Taiwan. He also criticized China’s global ‘Belt and Road’ scheme for “trailing developing countries into debt traps”. “They torture and detain their own people in Hong Kong and Xinjiang and violate their human rights,” he said.
Can get support of anti-China party members
Sunak said, ‘It is enough now. For a long time, Britain and Western leaders have been laying red carpets and turning a blind eye to China’s nefarious activities and intentions. As a Prime Minister, I will change it on the very first day itself. Sunak’s strong words towards China will clearly garner the support of anti-Beijing Tory members who have been repeatedly calling on Boris Johnson to stand firm against China.
