Nick Eardley BBC chief political correspondent
September 11, 2023 9:19 am
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The British government is under pressure to take tougher action against Beijing due to recent reports in the British media that a British parliamentary researcher was arrested in the UK on charges of espionage for China.
Some senior British Conservative MPs have called for China to be listed as a threat, a move supported by some cabinet ministers.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also raised concerns about China’s interference during the G20 summit in India last weekend. He also said that open dialogue with China is necessary.
China denies accusations of espionage, calling them “malicious slander”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “We urge relevant parties in the UK to stop anti-China political manipulation and stop this self-directed and self-staged political farce.”
The British police confirmed on Saturday (September 9) that during March this year, the police arrested two men, aged in their 20s and 30s, under the British Official Secrets Act.
“A man in his 30s was arrested at an address in Oxfordshire and a man in his 20s was arrested at an address in Edinburgh,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
“We also carried out searches at these two homes and a third address in east London.”
BBC sources said one of those arrested was a parliamentary researcher involved in international affairs.
According to a report first disclosed by the British media “The Sunday Times”, the researcher is said to be in contact with several Conservative MPs. The BBC has contacted the researcher for a response but has not published his name.
Both men have been released on bail and the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism unit is investigating espionage-related offences.
The Sunday Times also reported that the researcher had been in contact with security minister Tom Tugendhat and Foreign Affairs Committee chair Alicia Kearns, among others.
Indeed, the arrest of the parliamentary researcher has reignited a question that has been debated within the Conservative Party for months: Should Britain take a tougher approach to China?
Audio plus text,
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly (Covey/Qi Zhanming) visited China on August 30 and met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
Cabinet ministers have so far refused to view Beijing as a threat.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly (Qi Zhanming) visited Beijing in August. This was the first time a British foreign minister visited China in five years. He told the BBC at the time that not engaging with China would not be a “credible” option. However, there are growing calls from British political circles for the government to reconsider this position.
Senior Conservative backbenchers, including former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and MP Tim Loughton, have called on the government to take action.
Duncan Smith said, “It is time for us to realize that the Chinese Communist Party, under the leadership of President Xi, has posed a deepening threat (to us).”
Lowton warned, “How far does the Chinese Communist Party extend its tentacles in British institutions?”
“Britain’s parliamentary security may once again be under threat, reinforcing the view that we cannot help but view China as a ‘hostile foreign threat’.”
“Escalation of the situation”
Some cabinet ministers, such as Home Secretary Suella Braverman, are also said to support tightening rules on China.
However, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the UK must be “very careful about the language we use”, adding that calling China a threat would “escalate the situation”.
She said the UK’s current position – that China had posed an “epoch-making challenge” – was consistent with that of its allies.
British Prime Minister Sunak said on Sunday (September 10) that he had raised “very strong concerns” with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang about any interference in British democracy.
But he added that the right thing to do is to use opportunities to engage and raise concerns, rather than just shouting from the sidelines.
Image caption,
Sunak told the G20 meeting that he had raised “very strong concerns” with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang about any interference in British democracy.
“Worry deepens”
Sir Alex Younger, the former head of the British intelligence service MI6, believes that China’s definition of intelligence work is “broader” than what the UK usually understands, including trying to influence them and information collection.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program, he said that the UK must “find ways to cooperate with China”, including in areas such as climate change.
But he said China should probably be classified as a “country of concern” under British security laws updated earlier this year, which would mean additional security reports from organizations linked to China in the future.
“Sometimes we need to face China. In my experience, being nice to them doesn’t get you very far,” he added.
The UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee released a long-awaited report in July warning that London had insufficient awareness of Beijing’s security risks.
The report states: “It appears that China has a high degree of intent to interfere in the British government, targeting officials and institutions at all levels to influence British political thinking and China-related decision-making.”
Analysis: Where will UK-China relations go from here?
Chris Mason, BBC political affairs editor
One of Britain’s biggest foreign policy dilemmas has resurfaced.
In fact, it never really went away: How to deal with China?
In November last year, Prime Minister Sunak delivered his first important speech on foreign policy, and I wrote an article and analysis on it. But with the Sunday Times reporting that two men were allegedly arrested for violating Britain’s Official Secrets Act and a parliamentary researcher was accused of spying for Beijing, related issues have once again become the focus of the media.
Within hours of the British media publishing the news, the British Prime Minister sat across the table from Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang at the G20 summit in Delhi. As far as I know, this was the first substantive question Sunak raised during the approximately 20-minute meeting, which a British source described as “business-like.”
Ministers want to try to send the message that they can be candid and direct with the Chinese when necessary, but to do this there must be more dialogue between governments. Indeed, the need for “dialogue” is greater now than in the past.
In the past 10 years, the relationship between the UK and China has been ups and downs.
Less than eight years ago, former British Prime Minister David Cameron took Chinese President Xi Jinping for a drink in a local pub in England. Now the relationship between the two countries seems to have fallen into an almost deep freeze.
image copyrightGetty Images
Image caption,
Chinese President Xi Jinping and then British Prime Minister David Cameron drank beer together in 2015
There has been no substantive face-to-face meeting between the British Prime Minister and Xi Jinping for more than five years. Sunak tried to gently warm up the icy situation.
noisy tory MP
Cabinet ministers often reiterate a phrase they use to describe their position: “clear eyed.”
They don’t want to appear naive about Beijing’s stance. But there is a group of senior Conservative MPs who believe the UK government is becoming weak and feel emboldened in light of this latest news to take a tougher view on Beijing.
Former British Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith is one of them.
image copyrightGetty Images
Image caption,
James Cleverly met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a visit to Beijing last month.
The other is former Prime Minister Truss, who visited Taiwan in May this year.
Taiwan has actually had an independent central government since 1949, but China claims sovereignty over the island. Some people worry that China may invade Taiwan by force. Last month, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited Beijing and said isolating the world’s second-largest economy was a mistake.
While there are no public plans for further visits by either the Foreign Secretary or the Prime Minister, some on the British side are privately open to the idea.
Senior members of the UK government are unhappy with the complaints from some Tory colleagues and want to be convinced that they are just voices from the fringes, because this becomes even more important when you look at how the UK’s allies are dealing with relations with China. To be obvious.
For example, we can expect ministers to try to develop strategies that are in lockstep with countries such as Australia and the United States.
Audio plus text,
Former British Prime Minister Truss visited Taiwan and called on the West to be tough on China
London, along with Canberra and Washington, is a member of the security alliance AUKUS defense agreement.
allies and coordination
And what has Australia announced recently? Australian Prime Minister Albanese will visit Beijing this autumn. This will be the first visit to China by an Australian leader since 2016.
US Secretary of State Blinken also visited China in June.
But just because that’s what allies do, does that mean it’s the right thing to do?
The debate is set to continue, fueled by news over the weekend – and it seems likely that a similar debate will take place within the opposition Labor Party if it wins the next general election.
Labour’s shadow enterprise secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, expressed the dilemma in two sentences in an interview with the BBC.
“There are areas where economic relations can be positive,” he said.
But he added that managing political relationships in the face of these “shocking and appalling accusations” was difficult.
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2023-09-11 09:23:52
