Former British Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak wants to limit China’s influence in the UK if he wins the race for premiership. This is stated in his election program, the text of which was cited on Sunday, July 24, by the newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
Sunak said, citing MI5 Director General Ken McCallum and FBI Director Christopher Wray, that China is the biggest long-term threat to the economic and national security of the UK and the world.
“We are at home [граждане КНР] steal technology and infiltrate our universities, and help abroad [президенту РФ Владимиру] Putin to carry out … an invasion of Ukraine, buying oil from him, and also trying to intimidate their neighbors, including Taiwan, ”the candidate for the premiership claimed.
For too long, politicians in Britain and the West have favored China and overlooked its intrigues and ambitions, said the candidate for the British premiership.
“I will put an end to this the same day I become prime minister,” Sunak assured.
He also promised that, together with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of other partner countries of the kingdom, he would try to minimize the vulnerability of the West to China.
In a policy statement, he also promised to close all Confucius Institutes operating in the UK for fear that they are being used as intelligence. There are currently 31 such institutions in the kingdom.
Sunak and his rival for the premiership, Foreign Minister Liz Truss, have previously criticized each other for being too soft on China. It is expected that this topic will be raised again during the televised debate, which on Monday, July 25, will be organized by the BBC Broadcasting Corporation.
Earlier, on July 23, The Telegraph published information that Liz Truss intends to address the topic of relations with the Russian Federation as part of the election campaign. In this way, she plans to get around an opponent who is inclined to take a more neutral position on this issue.
On July 20, it became known that Sunak and Foreign Minister Liz Truss reached the finals of the struggle for the post of prime minister. Deputy Minister for International Trade Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the fight.
In the last round, the winner will be chosen by all members of the Conservative Party, whose number has now almost reached 200 thousand. The name of the new head of government will be announced on September 5.
The UK will elect a new head of government after Boris Johnson announced his resignation on July 7. This happened against the background of the fact that more than 50 politicians left his government. None of the new candidates for the post of prime minister of the country supported the idea of the presence of ex-prime minister Johnson in the cabinet.
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