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Britain’s Boris Johnson warns against ‘unthinking sinophobia’ in China ties
- The prime minister’s comments come amid heightened tensions with Beijing over its Hong Kong crackdown, forced labour in Xinjiang and the UK’s Huawei ban
- Johnson says ‘calling out human rights abuses’ should not stop the countries from having a ‘productive relationship’
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02:23
Boris Johnson warns against ‘sinophobia’ amid rising tensions with China over human rights and 5G
Boris Johnson warns against ‘sinophobia’ amid rising tensions with China over human rights and 5G
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday warned against anti-Chinese sentiment, despite renewing strong criticism about Beijing’s actions and policies.
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“I don’t want this country or this government to lurch into a position of unthinking sinophobia,” he told the heads of parliament’s select committees.
“There’s a balance to be struck.”
Britain has angered China by denouncing the implementation of a controversial security law in its former colony of Hong Kong, which has been used against pro-democracy activists. It has offered Hongkongers a route to citizenship by relaxing entry requirements for those with British National (Overseas) passports.
01:33
Britain introduces new policies to end supply-chain links to Xinjiang
Britain introduces new policies to end supply-chain links to Xinjiang
It has also blocked the involvement of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co. in Britain’s 5G network, bowing to US pressure, which assesses the firm as a security risk.
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