BEIJING, July 25. /TASS/. Chinese authorities slam statements by individual British politicians about ‘the need to limit China's influence’ as irresponsible, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a briefing on Monday.
"I will not comment on the participation in the election of the British Conservative Party representative [Rishi Sunak], but I would like to advise individual British politicians <...> not to solve their own problems by criticizing China. This will not work," he said.
According to the Chinese diplomat, the words of British politicians who try to inflate the theory of the so-called Chinese threat "should be considered irresponsible statements."
On Sunday, ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said that he would limit China's influence in the United Kingdom if he won the race for prime minister. He promised to close all UK Confucius Institutes and stressed that British politicians have favored China for too long and overlooked its machinations and its ambitions. The member of the Conservative Party promised that he would prevent Beijing from "taking over British universities" and would actively oppose Chinese hackers.