After the United Kingdom recently suspended the extradition treaty with Hong Kong, China has recently threatened to target British firms like HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been escalating his harsh rhetoric on China. He announced the suspension of an extradition treaty with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Monday, July 20.
The suspension will be "immediately and indefinitely" due to concerns that security legislation would transfer cases to mainland China.
According to the state-controlled news organization Global Times, Communist officials threaten to throw retaliation against UK firms. The UK was charged to "dance to the tune of Americans" who urge a hard approach to China.
'Retaliation is always the last choice for the Chinese government," Global Times noted amid escalating tensions only with the U.K. and the U.S. This may include striking against British companies like HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover.
While HSBC was founded in Hong Kong in 1865, it has moved its headquarters in London since 1993. The bank has been slammed for supporting the Chinese restriction in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, China is an important market for the expansion of Jaguar.
U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo is in London to have talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Raab that seem to focus on China.
China firmly opposed the U.K.'s suspension of the extradition treaty. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a routine press conference urged the British government not to further damage its relationship with China.
Wang also argued Britain's recent actions on Hong Kong affairs as the British government has ignored Hong Kong's national security law, which helped stabilize the "one country, two systems." Also, the spokesperson said the U.K. seriously violated the basic norms of international law, which she claimed to be a blatant interference in China's internal affairs.
"The U.K. imitates the U.S."
China accused the UK of imitating America's rejection of China's recent national security law for Hong Kong. This adds to the country's banning of Huawei's 5G technologies in the U.K. the recent decision is a reversal of the January announcement to allow the Chinese company to have a limited 5G role in the U.K.
However, Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming denounced UK conforming to the U.S. and accused the western countries of starting a 'new cold war' against China.
Meanwhile, the prime minister promised to strike a balance in his approach to Beijing. "I'm not going to be pushed into a position of becoming a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China," said Johnson adding the country has serious concerns.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the Newsnight program on BBC that many countries were concerned about the Chinese government. "This is a problem for the free world right now," Smith said adding that France and Germany have to make decisions.
Meanwhile, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrote in The Daily Telegraph called Johnson to help the U.K. 'assume a much greater role in global affairs."
