UK’s Sunak says China poses world’s biggest security challenge

CHINA represents the world’s greatest challenge to security and prosperity, but other leading economies should not seek to fully decouple from it, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday (May 21) after a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) nations.

“China poses the biggest challenge of our age to global security and prosperity. They are increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad,” Sunak told reporters after the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Sunak said Britain and other G7 countries would pursue a common approach to reduce the challenges posed by China.

“This is all about de-risking – not decoupling,” he said. “With the G7, we are taking steps to prevent China from using economic coercion to interfere in the sovereign affairs of others.”

In a statement, the G7 reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, where Chinese military exercises have raised concerns over the security of Taiwan, the democratic, self-governed island that China regards as part of its territory.

China’s foreign ministry issued a complaint to Japan, the G7 host, expressing firm opposition to the G7 joint statement, saying it disregarded China’s concerns, had attacked it and interfered in its internal affairs, including Taiwan.

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Separately, the G7 countries signalled to Russia their readiness to stand by Ukraine for the long term.

Joined by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Sunak said on Sunday that no one wants peace more than the Ukrainian president but that peace conditions should be based on Ukraine’s principles.

US President Joe Biden announced a new US$375 million package of military aid to Ukraine on Sunday and told Zelenskiy that the United States was doing all it could to strengthen Ukraine’s defence for the war with Russia. REUTERS