United Kingdom’s race for the next Prime Minister is getting hotter every day. Right now, the two top contenders are Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, and both have made a slew of promises in their attempts to woo the party members who will be voting to pick their leader and PM. On Sunday, Sunak promised that if he is chosen to replace Boris Johnson, he will get tough on China. He called the country the “number one threat” to domestic and global security.
As per an AFP report, this comes after Sunak’s rival Liz Truss accused him of being weak on China and Russia.
Watch | The UK gears up for next Prime Minister: Liz Truss vs Rishi Sunak
China’s government-run Global Times in a report had even called Sunak the only contender in the race who had “a clear and pragmatic view on developing UK-China ties”.
UK’s Daily Mail termed this “the endorsement that nobody wanted”.
Sunak has made a number of proposals in an effort to move past this, including the closure of Chinese Confucius institutes and the use of the intelligence agency MI5 to stop Chinese espionage.
Also read | British PM candidates pledge to crack down on illegal immigration
He criticised China’s international “belt and road” initiative for “saddling developing countries with insurmountable debt”.
“They torture, detain and indoctrinate their own people, including in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, in contravention of their human rights. And they have continually rigged the global economy in their favour by suppressing their currency,” he added.
“Enough is enough. For too long, politicians in Britain and across the West have rolled out the red carpet and turned a blind eye to China’s nefarious activity and ambitions.”
“I will change this on Day 1 as PM.”
Also read | Rishi Sunak labels himself the underdog in race to become next UK Prime Minister
China hawks inside the Tory party, who have consistently urged Johnson to be more assertive with Beijing, would no doubt applaud Sunak for his tough talk. However, this also demonstrates how desperately Sunak is attempting to catch up to Truss. As per polls, Truss is ahead in the vital race.
(With inputs from agencies)
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