The British government on Monday resisted calls to label China as a threat to the country after a researcher in the Parliament was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of being a Chinese spy.
Resistance
UK Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the country should avoid calling China a “foe” or using rhetoric that could “escalate” tensions.
“China is a country that we do a lot of business with,” he told Sky News. “China is a country that is significant in terms of world economics. It sits on the UN Security Council. We certainly should not be describing China as a foe, but we can describe it as a challenge,” he added.
Similarly, British PM Rishi Sunak is known for his preference of the adjective “challenge,” when talking about China. Sunak’s spokesperson, Max Blain, said it was inappropriate to reduce the UK’s approach to China “just to one word.”
“We need to take the opportunity to engage with China, not to just shout from the sidelines,” Blain said.
However, Sunak did protest the incident to Chinese Premier Li Qiang, when the two leaders met at the G20 Summit in New Delhi on Sunday. Sunak said he expressed his “very strong concerns about any interference in [the UK’s] parliamentary democracy,” which he called “obviously unacceptable.”
Chinese Spy in British Parliament
The issue has resurfaced after the Metropolitan Police Force confirmed over the weekend that a man in his 20s and another man in his 30s had been arrested in March under the country’s Official Secrets Act. Neither man has been charged and both have been released on bail until October, pending further inquiries.
According to The Sunday Times, the younger suspect was a parliamentary researcher who worked with senior Conservative Party lawmakers in a parliamentary group focused on China. He also held a pass that allowed full access to the Parliament buildings.
The researcher, whom police have not publicly named, has maintained that he is “completely innocent.”
“I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party. To do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for,” he said in the statement.
Chinese Response
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning dismissed the allegations, saying, “the so-called Chinese espionage activity in the UK is non-existent.”
She also urged the UK “to stop spreading false information and stop its anti-China political manipulation and malicious smear.”