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British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss expressed caution over the role of Chinese state-owned firms in nuclear power projects. Photo: Reuters

China warns Britain to ‘think twice’ about Aukus pact and warns of nuclear proliferation risk

  • Wang Yi tells British counterpart Liz Truss that the alliance with the US and Australia could ‘trigger an arms race and provoke confrontation’
  • Meanwhile Truss warns in newspaper interview against UK becoming ‘dependent’ on China for sensitive projects such as nuclear power plants
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned Britain to be cautious about its Aukus security pact with Australia and the United States that will allow Canberra to build nuclear-powered submarines.
In a phone call with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Friday, Wang said: “The creation of a new military bloc in the region will trigger an arms race, provoke confrontation between major powers and undermine regional peace and stability”.
“The Chinese side opposes this agreement and urges the British side to proceed from [the principle of] safeguarding the nuclear non-proliferation system, handle it cautiously, and think twice,” Wang said, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

China hits out at Aukus after US submarine accident

Wang said the deal is the first time a nuclear-armed state has transferred a nuclear-powered submarine to a non-nuclear-armed state by providing highly enriched uranium, addding: “As it is not subject to international supervision and verification, it is bound to pose a serious risk of nuclear proliferation.

“China expresses serious concerns about the establishment of a tripartite security partnership between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and the development of nuclear submarine cooperation”.

The security pact, announced in September, is widely regarded to be aimed at China with the US, Australia and other Indo-Pacific nations voicing concern over China’s military presence in the region.

Malaysia and Indonesia have said they are “worried and concerned” that Aukus may lead to an arms race in Southeast Asia, but other nations in the region were more cautious in making their responses.

Wang said China and the UK should properly manage their differences to ensure healthy development of their bilateral relations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing opposes the new pact. Photo: Handout

The phone call between Wang Yi and Truss came as Truss said Britain must not become “dependent” on China, saying critical national infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants, should only be built with “like-minded” partners.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph on Friday, she indicated that Beijing-controlled companies should be excluded from contracts to build the Sizewell C nuclear power station, saying joint work on sensitive projects should be done only with nations that have a “bond of trust” with the UK.

“The way I would put it is that, of course, we trade with China. It’s an important trading partner of the UK. But it’s important that we don’t become strategically dependent,” she said.

But she appeared to be cautious on whether Chinese state-owned companies should be involved in UK nuclear power plants.

The US and the EU see China differently. Aukus highlights how

“I’d go back to the broader comments I’ve made about diversifying supply,” she said. “I think it’s very important that we don’t become strategically dependent and I think it’s important that we make sure that we’re working, particularly in areas of critical national infrastructure, with reliable partners.”

On Tuesday, the Chinese ambassador to Britain Zheng Zeguang said the UK needs to offer more than lip service and improve the investment environment for Chinese companies, referring to restrictions facing Chinese enterprises in the 5G network and nuclear power industry.

Wang said that there was significant potential for economic cooperation between the two countries in areas such as financial services, clean energy and the digital economy.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Britain warned about AUKUS pact
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