UK PM candidates using China as campaign catalyzer: GT

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The sole two candidates left in the leadership race for the British Conservative Party, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, are competing over the title of who has the tougher stance on China during their electoral campaigns, an analysis on Global Times (GT) said on July 26.

Chinese analysts said the policy on China in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom would not see any drastic changes with the changing of leaders, and giving impetus to the "China threat" is one of the best options for politicians to try and veil the domestic issues their countries are experiencing instead of actually trying to solve them.

Despite knowing that China has nothing to do with their internal messes, and especially their economic problems that their voters care about most, experts have said.

Analysts have criticized the candidates, saying they were encouraging Sinophobia and letting their people believe that the UK should blame and fear China when they are suffering from various internal crises. They also asserted that China should not have any concerns regarding the statements emanating from the candidates, as they are mere statements made to serve their campaigns. "What they do after stepping into No. 10 Downing Street is much more important to watch."

China represents "the largest threat to Britain and the world's security and prosperity this century," former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said, proposing a series of measures to reduce Beijing's influence in his country.

In response to questions on Sunak's remarks against Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a press briefing on Monday that he would not comment on the Tory leadership race, as it is an internal British affair.

"I want to make it clear to certain British politicians that making irresponsible remarks about China, including hyping up so-called 'China threat,' cannot solve one's own problems," Zhao said.

Sunak's statements go 100% against his statements in July 2021, when he was still the minister of finance. He said at the time that London should enhance its trading relationship with China while admitting that efforts to reopen direct access to EU financial service markets had failed. He showed great interest in seeking more financial cooperation with China. 

The present, however, is completely different. The Financial Times reported on Monday that Sunak said he would ban all 30 Confucius Institute branches in the United Kingdom, arguing that the Chinese government was using educational and cultural organizations to promote soft power in Britain's universities.

He also pledged that he would implement new national security laws that would protect UK tech start-ups from Chinese investments and a new "NATO-style" international alliance to tackle the cyber threats posed by China.

The two candidates, at this stage, see the key as winning support from not just the elites, but also the most conservative and grass-roots Tory members who might not have "that much common sense when it comes to foreign policy," Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told The Global Times on Monday.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is more favorable among Tories due to her tougher anti-China stance, and the two candidates are fighting for the support of around 160,000 Tories who will begin voting in early August to choose the party's next leader. 

The director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, Wang Yiwei, told GT that remarks made during elections in Western countries are not that important.

"The key to observing the future of China-UK ties lies in whether there is any concrete impact on significant existing projects such as the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station," he added.

Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he would step down after a slew of resignations hit his government earlier this month in protest of his leadership. He will, however, stay as Prime Minister until a replacement is found.

Sunak's resignation as Finance Minister this month helped to topple outgoing leader Boris Johnson after months of scandal including "Partygate".

At his last session of Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons earlier Wednesday, Johnson bowed out by saying "Hasta la vista, baby!"