UK Collision Course With China: Bloomberg

The United Kingdom stands up to China on multiple fronts even while negotiating Brexit. “Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has criticized Beijing’s planned imposition of a security law on the former British territory of Hong Kong, and is taking steps to exclude Huawei from its fifth-generation mobile networks by lining up potential replacements,” reports Alan Crawford for Bloomberg. The UK, a country of 66 million, adopts tougher polices than the European Union, with 440 million. In an op-ed, the prime minister offers refuge for 3 million Hong Kong citizens if China imposes its own national security law for the territory. China could retaliate on the economic front, and two British financial institutions have expressed support for the law. China rejects external interference, maintaining that the UK has no power over its former territory. Britain relinquished control of Hong Kong in 1997, and China had promised a transitiion of “one country, two systems” through 2047. Another lawmaker warns that China’s policies on Taiwan could pose greater worry. British officials also express skepticism about China’s Huawei supplying parts of the UK 5G network, and the pandemic increases desire for more diversification in that industry, Crawford reports. That stance may influence other countries, including Canada and Germany. – YaleGlobal