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BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) – China’s ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming said British politicians who have called for a restoration of ties between the two nations risk poisoning the relationship.
The rhetoric against China is in danger of undermining international solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, he said in a webinar on Tuesday (May 5).
The ambassador’s comment is a shady warning to high-ranking conservatives, including Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who said last month that it couldn’t be “business as usual” with China after Covid-19. Critics have focused on China’s lack of transparency about reporting early cases of the disease.
Sadly, some politicians in the UK have been addicted to the Cold War mindset to compare China to the former Soviet Union and urge a review of the China-UK relationship, and even call for a new Cold War. Liu said.
“If left unchecked, they will poison the China-UK joint effort and even international solidarity as needed most.”
Those parliamentarians “do not represent” the views of the government, business and the general public, Liu said. “They don’t even represent Parliament.”
He added: “I think the UK government and Prime Minister Johnson are still committed to a stronger relationship with China. I am confident that we can work with the UK government.”
Iain Duncan Smith, former leader of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party, called Liu’s comments “completely predictable” and “out of touch with what is being discussed.”
Most critics are making “a reasonable request for China to obey the rules of the free market,” he said.
“Most people in Parliament and in the UK are deeply concerned about trade terms with China, how it handled the outbreak and its international commitments like in the South China Sea,” Duncan Smith said in an interview.
Liu echoed China’s stance that any call for an investigation into the outbreak is “politically motivated” and inspired by the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Some people in the British media “dance to the tune of American politicians and media,” he said.
The envoy said the global public health crisis highlighted how “helping each other is the only way to a final victory” over Covid-19.
“The last thing I would like to see is for the UK to scare off foreign investors” over national security concerns, Liu said. “China cannot be targeted as a target.”
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