Why UK needs to adopt robust stance towards China amid spying allegations

Today marks 40 years since the Sino-British joint declaration, an agreement which committed the British and Chinese governments to a detailed programme designed to not only hand Hong Kong back to China by 1997, but ensure that the way of life in the territory would continue unchanged well into the 21st century.

The ‘one country, two systems’ concept was enshrined in the very first paragraph of the 17-page document, which emphasised that the socialist system and policies “shall not be practised in the region”, and vowed that “Hong Kong’s capitalist system and lifestyle shall remain unchanged for 50 years”.

In the decades since, both the spirit and the letter of that legally binding treaty have been stretched to breaking point, with Chinese officials repeatedly challenging its status and putting the autonomy and freedoms of Hong Kong in peril time and again. The introduction earlier this year of the widely reviled new security law known as Article 23, which allows for closed-door trials and gives the police rights to detain suspects for up to 16 days without charge, intensified those concerns.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with President Xi Jinping of China during a bilateral meeting in November (Picture: Stefan Rousseau) | PA

Starmer’s tightrope

While the tensions around Hong Kong remain to the fore, the latest flashpoint may be the most troubling yet for Anglo-Chinese relations, after businessman Yang Tengbo was accused of being a spy for China and banned from the country. Mr Yang, a confidant of Prince Andrew, has denied all wrongdoing, but the development raises searching questions about how the UK Government deals with influential Chinese nationals.

Since taking office, Sir Keir Starmer has attempted to walk a thin tightrope, defending his administration’s engagement with Beijing on key issues such as trade and climate change, while expressing “concern” about the challenge posed by China. The allegations against Mr Yang reveal just how precarious the balancing act has become.

From its heavy investment in higher education institutions, business, and infrastructure, the extent of China’s influence across British life cannot and should not be underestimated. Naturally, not all of those interactions are hostile, but taken as a whole, they give rise to well-founded fears about the way in which China can help policy one way or the other.

‘Anti-China clamours’

It is tempting to presume that Scotland is somehow apart from all this, but to do so would be naive. For example, Mr Yang is listed as a director of one company, the UK China Business Leaders Confederation. It counts a Scots businessman, Alistair Michie, among its other directors. There is no suggestion that Mr Michie has engaged in wrongdoing, or was aware of the allegations against Mr Yang, but surely the fact a link exists at all should concentrate minds in both Westminster and Edinburgh.

The Chinese embassy in London has reacted angrily to the allegations against Mr Yang, condemning them as “anti-China clamours” and an attempt to “undermine normal personnel exchanges between China and the UK”. The UK, in turn, would be best served by adopting a similarly robust stance. A great deal has changed over the past 40 years, but with an increasingly bullish China throwing its weight around, now is not the time to stand meekly by.