Sunak vows to get tough on China if he becomes PM

Former finance minister Rishi Sunak (pictured) said yesterday that China represented the largest threat to Britain and world security this century, setting out his plans to deal with Beijing in the latest front in the battle to become prime minister.Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss are fighting in an increasingly divisive Conservative Party leadership contest to replace Boris Johnson after a revolt against his scandal-ridden administration forced him to say he would stand down.Truss is ahead in polls among members of the Conservative Party who will choose their new leader and Britain’s next prime minister, but Sunak is hoping that weeks of hustings and debates will help his campaign ahead of a vote result due on September 5.“China is the biggest-long term threat to Britain and the world’s economic and national security,” Sunak said in a statement. “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.”He said that he would ban Confucius Institutes, which are funded by the Chinese government, in Britain, and use spy agencies to help British businesses counter Chinese spying.He said he would also examine the case for banning Chinese acquisitions of key British assets, including strategically sensitive tech firms.Sunak also promised to “kick the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) out of our universities” by forcing higher education establishments to disclose foreign funding of more than £50,000 ($60,000) and reviewing research partnerships.Britain’s domestic spy agency MI5 would be used to help combat Chinese espionage, and he would look to build “Nato-style” international co-operation to tackle Chinese threats in cyber-space.He would also study the case for banning Chinese acquisitions of key British assets, including strategically sensitive tech firms.Sunak claimed China was “stealing our technology and infiltrating our universities” and “propping up” Vladimir Putin abroad by buying Russian oil, as well as attempting to bully neighbours, including Taiwan.He hit out at China’s global “belt and road” scheme for “saddling developing countries with insurmountable debt”.A spokesperson for Truss’s campaign said the foreign minister had “strengthened Britain’s position on China” and “helped lead the international response to increases Chinese aggression”.“This will only continue when she becomes prime minister and seeks to expand her network of liberty around the world,” the spokesperson said.China’s state-run Global Times has previously said Sunak was the only candidate in the contest with “a clear and pragmatic view on developing UK-China ties”.The Daily Mail, which has come out for Foreign Secretary Truss in the race to succeed Boris Johnson, called that “the endorsement that nobody wanted”.