China’s embassy in London said British politicians should avoid slandering Beijing after Britain barred a Chinese businessman with strong links to Prince Andrew from entering the country on national security grounds.
The House of Commons on Monday held a session to discuss Yang Tengbo, the 50-year-old lobbyist named by the High Court as banned from Britain, and the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, which deals with relationships with non-partisan organizations, and which a UK parliamentary panel said last year had penetrated “every sector of the UK economy.” This provoked a reprimand from the Chinese embassy.
“We urge the British side to immediately stop creating trouble, stop anti-China political manipulations and stop undermining normal personnel exchanges between China and the United Kingdom,” an embassy spokesperson said in a statement on its website. website. “This is a typical case of a thief shouting ‘catch the thief.’ What they really intend is to defame China, attack the Chinese community in the UK and undermine normal personnel exchanges between China and the UK.”
The embassy’s scathing remarks addressed what the spokesperson described as “anti-China outcries made by a handful of British MPs”, an apparent attempt to avoid direct criticism of the British government. However, it will likely be read as a new test for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to improve economic and diplomatic relations with China since winning the UK general election in July.
“The British side must have a correct perception of China, clearly see the historical trend, and handle its relations with China on the basis of mutual respect, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit,” he said the spokesperson.
Both China’s Foreign Ministry and Yang — a former business adviser to the prince, who is the brother of King Charles III — have denied that he is a spy. Lin Jian, a Chinese ministry spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday that the espionage accusation against China “is ridiculous.”
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