China is working to undermine British democracy, the government warns

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The UK government says it wants to boost trade with China, despite warning that Beijing is spying on the UK and increasing efforts to undermine its democracy and economic security.

As part of a broader national security strategy that warned that the UK’s mainland was at risk of “direct threats” from military opponents, the minister has published a much-anticipated study of the risks raised by China to the UK.

Foreign Secretary David Lamy said China represents Britain’s “most complicated bilateral relations,” but said it requires a “consistent” relationship with the country, the third largest trading partner.

“China’s power is an inevitable fact,” Ramie said in a statement to the MPS. “Therefore, not being involved with China is not an option at all.”

A report released on Tuesday said the UK should “support safe and resilient growth” and “seek for a trade-investment relationship.”

But at the same time, he warned that “China’s espionage, interference in our democracy and weakening of our economic security is on the rise.”

The military risks facing Britain were also laid out in a national security strategy released on Tuesday, raising the prospects of a direct attack on the UK soil.

“Some enemies are trying to set the foundation for future conflicts and move quickly to cause major disruptions in the energy and supply chain and discourage them from facing aggression,” he said.

“For the first time in many years, we must actively prepare ourselves for the possibility that our British homeland will be subject to direct threats in wartime scenarios.”

Kielstarmer, who attends the NATO meeting in The Hague, has pledged to raise UK defence spending to 5% by 2035, taking into account adjacent investments in cybersecurity and border management.

The challenge of balancing UK-China relations was exposed on Tuesday by a strong US Congressional group warning about Beijing’s plans for London’s huge new embassy.

There are concerns that the location of the Chinese Embassy, ​​located on the edge of London’s financial district, will be located near many sensitive data cables, including those used by US banks.

The Parliamentary Selection Committee on the Communist Party of China raised concerns that the building, which has undergone a planning approval process, has posed an unacceptable intelligence reporting threat not only to Londoners, but also to the UK (Security Alliance) five eyes, Europe as a whole.

“We have not yet received a reliable assurance that the risks posed by PRC’s so-called mega embassy in London can be fully mitigated.”

Ramie said the Chinese embassy’s planning permission was a legal process that he was unable to interfere with and that he could not challenge allegations of cutting a deal with Beijing.

“There is no dirty deal on the issue and it’s not certain it’s not related to the embassy,” Lamie said.

After the Foreign Secretary said many of the UK’s China audits were classified, Labour MP and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Emily Thornberry, asked the government to set up a safe reading room so that lawmakers could see the details.

Luke de Palford, executive director of China’s Inter-Parliamentary Alliance, questioned the UK government’s secrets about its audit and trade focus.

“Many of what came up in the consultation process was negative, but not necessarily sensitive, but there is a risk of embarrassing Beijing,” Palford said.

“The idea that trade with China will save the UK’s economy is worthy of questioning. What we see in despair at UK growth is the “finance” of government policies that extend to current foreign policy. ”

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