Category: Europe-China Relations

UK Government Told to ‘Get a Grip’ on China Issues Over Plans to Meet Xinjiang Governor

Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Alicia Kearns told the UK government to “get a grip on China issues” on Thursday after a minister defended a potential visit of Xinjiang Governor Erkin Tuniyaz. MPs urged the government not to give him a visa and to ramp up sanctions against human rights abusers in China. Tuniyaz, governor and deputy…


US, UK, and Australia Carry Out China-Focused Air Drills

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada—The United States, Britain, and Australia carried out joint air drills on Wednesday over the Nevada desert and beyond as part of an effort to simulate high-end combat operations against Chinese fighter aircraft and air defenses. Reuters accompanied British forces for several hours during the U.S.-hosted, three-week-long Red Flag exercises aboard…


Labour Says UK Security Strategy Should Focus on NATO, Not Indo-Pacific

The UK must show “realism” on its military commitments to the Indo-Pacific region, Labour’s defence chief has said, as he suggested his party will stick to a “NATO first” security strategy if it comes into power. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development, and Foreign Policy in 2021 announced a UK…


Swiss Lawmakers Visit Taiwan, Say They Want Closer Ties

TAIPEI—A group of Swiss lawmakers met with Taiwan’s president and said Monday their government wants to deepen political relations, adding to shows of support by foreign politicians for the self-ruled island democracy in the face of Chinese communist regime’s intimidation. U.S. legislators including then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have irked Beijing by visiting Taiwan, which the…


Delete TikTok App to Protect Your Personal Data, Says UK Lawmaker

People should delete TikTok from their smartphones to protect their personal data from “hostile” threats, a senior British Conservative lawmaker has said. There have long been concerns around TikTok over its links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), because its parent company ByteDance was founded in the country, and critics have raised fears data could…


Australian Foreign Minister Calls on Britain to Confront Its ‘Colonial Past’

The United Kingdom must deal with its colonial past so that it can strengthen ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, says Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong. As part of her visit to the UK, the centre-left Wong delivered a speech to the King’s College in London where she spoke of how Australia eventually developed…


Governments Warned Chinese Cellular Chips Pose Next Biggest Threat

Using data collected in microchips, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could monitor activities all over the world in people’s homes as well as weapons deployment, a report warned. The report (pdf), written by British China researcher and former diplomat Charles Parton for Washington-based consultancy OODA, called on free and open countries to ban Chinese-manufactured IoT modules…


Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Sounds Alarm Over ‘Stealth’ Chinese Purchase of Cambridge Chip Startup

Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Alicia Kearns on Wednesday wrote to Business Secretary Grant Shapps, calling for a review into the Chinese take over of a UK semiconductor company. She said the investment into Cambridge University start-up Flusso wasn’t reviewed under the National Security and Investment Act because the name of the acquirer was not mentioned…


US ‘Watching Very Closely’ for Potential CCP Assistance to Russia’s War in Ukraine

The United States is monitoring potential efforts by communist China to provide military assistance to Russia for its war in Ukraine or to help the embattled regime dodge international sanctions. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that the United States was laser focused on rooting out any possible attempts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)…


MPs Push for Tighter Rules on UK Public Procurement From Hostile States

The UK is facing “Huawei-level decisions on a range of security measures,” Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Monday as she and a number of MPs called for tighter rules around public procurement. The government “took too long” to strip Huawei—a Chinese telecommunications giant—from the UK’s 5G network, the Conservative MP said…