Prime minister Rishi Sunak has said China poses the greatest state-based threat to UK economic security, as he left open the possibility of Britain sending arms to Taiwan.
As chancellor, Sunak sought to deepen economic ties between the two countries by proposing the resumption of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, an annual trade and investment summit that last took place in 2019. The proposed event was later cancelled.
But speaking at the G20 summit of world leaders in Indonesia, Sunak said China “unequivocally” posed a “systemic challenge” to the UK’s values and interests, adding that it was “undoubtedly the biggest state-based threat to our economic security”.