China has released a statement accusing the UK of ‘causing trouble’. (Image: Getty)
China has urged the UK to “immediately stop creating trouble” and blamed Britain for “anti-China political manipulations” in a fiery statement issued by an embassy spokesperson.
The statement, released on Tuesday, criticised “anti-China clamours made by a handful of UK MPs”, accusing them of attempting to “smear China” and “undermine normal personnel exchanges between China and the UK”.
The Government has been facing renewed pressure to designate China as a threat to national security after the naming of an alleged Chinese spy with close links to the Duke of York.
The statement added: “We always believe that a sound and stable China-UK relationship is not a one-sided favour but what meets the common interests of both sides.
“The UK side must have a right perception of China, see the historical trend clearly, and handle its relations with China on the basis of mutual respect, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit.
“We urge the UK side to immediately stop creating trouble, stop anti-China political manipulations, and stop undermining normal personnel exchanges between China and the UK.”
The comments come amid a diplomatic spat over ‘s relationship with alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who was recently banned from the UK and was reportedly a “close” confidant of the Duke of York.
Mr Yang, whose identity was revealed after an anonymity order was lifted on Monday, has denied any involvement in espionage, insisting that he has “done nothing wrong or unlawful”.
The businessman, previously known only as H6 in legal proceedings, was the founding partner of the Chinese branch of the Duke’s Pitch@Palace initiative and met with the Queen’s late second son twice at Buckingham Palace in 2018.
He is also reported to have been invited by Andrew to visit St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle.
On Monday, MPs urged the Government to implement the foreign influence registration scheme (Firs) proposed by the last administration and place China in the “enhanced” tier, which would allow more scrutiny.
Former Conservative leader and one of Parliament’s most vocal China hawks, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, told MPs on Monday that Mr Yang was “not a lone wolf”.
Security minister Dan Jarvis insisted the Government would use “every tool at our disposal” to protect the UK. Still, despite the opposition’s claims to the contrary, Firs had not been ready to be implemented when Labour came to power.
He told MPs: “Since coming into office, we have ensured that there are now more people than ever working on Firs implementation.”
But he could not say whether China would be placed in the “enhanced” tier when Firs was introduced in the summer of 2025.
said Monday that he was he was “concerned about the challenge that China poses”.
The row over alleged spying occurred after the improvement in relations between London and Beijing after Labour came to power.