Tory MPs to scrutinise UK’s relationship with China amid anger over Covid-19 response
Top Tory MPs have today launched a new research group aimed at reassessing the UK’s relationship with China amid concerns over the country’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.
The China Research Group will gather and share information on Chinese foreign and industrial policy, as well as its ownership and development of new technologies.
MPs said the new body would not be a campaigning group, but rather will aim to promote “understanding, debate and fresh thinking” on issues related to the country’s growing influence.
Tom Tugendhat, chair of the influential foreign affairs committee, will lead the group while Neil O’Brien, a former economic adviser to Theresa May, will serve as secretary.
Tugendhat, in an exclusive column for City PM, says we must come to terms with “vast swathes of the global economy under the control of a Communist Party that prioritises its own political survival above all else.”
Speaking to City PM, O’Brien said other European countries such as Germany were more advanced than the UK in their discussions about how to approach Beijing.
“We needed to create the organisation we’re setting up in order to spur this thinking,” he said. “Coronavirus has crystallised our thinking that something is needed sooner than later.”
The group’s main areas of focus will be China’s strategic investments around the world and the dominance of state-backed companies, as well as the country’s development and ownership of new technology.
The government has come under fire for its decision to allow tech giant Huawei to help build the UK’s 5G networks amid allegations its technology could be used for spying by authorities in Beijing.
MPs have also raised concerns about the transferral of intellectual property from the UK to China, such as an attempt earlier this month to take control of British chipmaker Imagination Technologies.
Further issues such as Beijing’s soft power over third countries through its Belt and Road Initiative, as well as alleged corruption, will also be examined.
While the China Research Group’s focus goes beyond the current pandemic, O’Brien said concerns had been “crystallised” by China’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak.
A study by Hong Kong researchers this week revealed coronavirus cases in China may have been four times higher than official figures, with authorities accused of attempting to cover up the scale of the virus outbreak.
Tugendhat said China’s “long pattern of information oppression” had contributed to the unfolding crisis, as well as its provision of faulty equipment.
The UK reportedly spent £16m on 2m Covid-19 home testing kits that were found to be ineffective and inaccurate.
“We know that the Chinese government is not actually looking to help people, otherwise they wouldn’t be sending out defective equipment,” he told City PM
“Instead what they’re trying to do is create a potemkin medical assistance programme which has the illusion of helping in order to boost propaganda.”
China’s ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming has denied a cover-up by his country, accusing western politicians of using “gunboat diplomacy” to “bully” China.
It comes after Dr Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson society, warned China could be facing a reckoning for causing “economic and health carnage around the world”.
In a report published earlier this month, the foreign policy think tank predicted that lawsuits against China for breaching international health regulations could run up to at least £3.2 trillion from G7 nations alone.
Speaking on City A.M’s City View podcast, Mendoza said the crisis was sparking a “sea change” in public opinion towards China, with the security, supply chain and disinformation fallout outweighing trade benefits.
“Sometimes a crisis like this is the kind of way that you do see a realignment of political positioning,” he said. “Taken in the round, I think that will lead to a long overdue reassessment of how China is viewed.”
Mendoza last night said the launch of the China Research Group was “timed perfectly to reflect the wave of British public outrage”.
“Coronavirus has reminded that there are significant costs, and not just benefits, to deeper ties with China,” he said.
“It is right that MPs now debate these with a view to reshaping a new relationship that cast not only in economic terms, but also strategic and values ones.”