Liu said the UK’s decision to remove Huawei technology from its 5G network, in response to the US sanctions on the company, was not about a single company, but about “how the UK sees and deals with China “
“Do you see China as an opportunity and a partner or a threat … as a friendly country or a hostile or potentially hostile state?” Liu said, accusing “some British politicians” of adopting a “Cold War warrior” mentality and being influenced by Washington.
“It is difficult to imagine a ‘global Britain’ that overlooks or excludes China,” he said, using Brexit rhetoric from the UK government itself. “Decoupling from China means decoupling from opportunities, decoupling from growth and decoupling from the future,” he added. .
In an hour-long statement and a live Q&A on Twitter, Liu cataloged a list of Chinese complaints against the UK, attacking British media and politicians for highlighting alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim population. in Xinjiang province.
Having been confronted earlier this month by BBC Andrew Marr with images that apparently show dozens of Uighur detainees tied up and shaved heads being transported to an unknown location by train, Liu responded, criticizing the station and claiming The video showed “the transfer of a group of prisoners” through a “detention house” in Kashi, Xinjiang.
The embassy also broadcast propaganda videos purporting to show terror attacks in Xinjiang dating back to the past decade, accompanied by sinister music, followed by video of Uighur people explaining how they had benefited from attending “re-education centers” in Xinjiang and ensuring new employment opportunities. as a result.
The confrontational approach carries the characteristics of a new brand of hardline Chinese diplomacy that has been deployed in various capitals, known as “wolf warrior” diplomacy. On Wednesday, Liu also published an article in the South China Morning Post calling for “visionary people in Britain [to] see the big picture of Sino-British cooperation
During the press conference, Liu accused British newspapers of refusing to publish his articles, claiming that “they had told me very directly” that he would not sell newspapers.
