Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
—
China
accused the Prime Minister
Keir Starmer
made “baseless accusations” after assessing Beijing as a threat to national security
England
.
The Chinese Embassy in London said it “firmly rejects the British side’s statements baselessly accusing China of interfering in its internal affairs”.
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“China’s development does not threaten any country. The UK has neither the qualifications nor the right to make baseless comments or conduct undue interference,” the Chinese Embassy said in the statement on Tuesday (2/12).
“(Prime Minister Starmer’s) statement was wrong,” the Embassy added.
In his speech to British businesspeople at the Lady Mayor’s Bangquet banquet on Monday (1/12), PM Starmer said China was a threat to Britain’s national security.
Starmer insisted China “poses a real threat to national security” and said London would continue to raise human rights concerns with Beijing.
Even so, Starmer emphasized that Britain would continue to maintain relations and strengthen cooperation with China.
Starmer promised that Britain’s policy towards China would no longer be “warm-cold”.Calling the failure to build ties with China a “dereliction of duty”, he called for a more serious approach.
“You can cooperate and trade with a country while still protecting yourself,” Starmer was quoted as saying
AFP
.
Starmer said he would continue to engage with China on trade, nuclear proliferation, artificial intelligence, climate change and other issues.However, he also promised to give the security services new powers and equipment to deal with what he called threats from Beijing.
Since Starmer took office as PM, Britain has sought to improve bilateral relations with China despite the threat the influence of the world’s second-largest economy poses to Western countries.
Starmer became the first British prime minister to meet President Xi Jinping in more than six years in November 2024, a sign the two countries’ relations are improving.
Despite the British government’s efforts to reset relations with the world’s second-largest economy, relations between the two countries remain tense due to accusations of espionage and disputes over the future of Hong Kong, a former British colony.
Last November, Britain’s domestic intelligence agency warned that Chinese spies posing as talent scouts were targeting lawmakers online.
This warning came after British prosecutors dropped a major and politically sensitive case against two men, one of whom was a former parliamentary researcher.The two men were accused of spying for China, although Beijing denied all these accusations.
Plans to build a large new Chinese embassy complex in London have also raised concerns about security and human rights.The British government is scheduled to decide on permission to build the embassy on December 10.
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