LONDON (UK) – China will respond firmly to Britain’s attempt to sanction Chinese officials after the implementation of security law in Hong Kong, its ambassador in London said on Sunday.
Earlier this month Britain brought in a new sanctions regime to target individuals, who according to it are involved in human rights abuses or organised crimes.
A few lawmakers in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party have added that the sanctions should be made use of to target Chinese officials.
Liu Xiaoming told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, “If UK government goes that far to impose sanctions on any individual in China, China will certainly make a resolute response to it.”
“You’ve seen what happens in the United States – they sanction Chinese officials, we sanction their senators, their officials. I do not want to see this tit-for-tat happen in… China-UK relations.”
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told that he is not keen to draw on future additions to be made in Britain’s sanctions list.
Raab said he would update Britain’s parliament to work on further measures on Hong Kong and China on Monday.
Britain says the new national security law in Hong Kong violates agreements made before the handover. It was also added that China is clamping down the freedoms that have helped mark Hong Kong as one of the world’s biggest financial hubs.
Moreover, China has repeatedly asked Western powers to stop interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.