China is considering lifting the sanctions it imposed on UK parliamentarians in 2021, in the latest sign of warming relations between London and Beijing. The Chinese government is reviewing the sanctions, which it introduced four years ago in response to what it called “lies and disinformation” about human rights abuses in Xinjiang, according to two UK government sources familiar with the conversations. Asked to comment, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London said: “China has always attached importance to developing relations with the UK. Currently, UK-China relations are showing…
Tag: UK news
BYD launches cheapest UK model in bid to overtake Tesla as biggest electric carmaker
The Chinese manufacturer BYD has launched its cheapest model in the UK, in the latest stage of its efforts to overtake Tesla as the world’s biggest electric carmaker. The Dolphin Surf will start at £18,650, a price that puts it among the cheapest new vehicles on sale in Britain. BYD is vying with American rival Tesla, run by Elon Musk, for the crown of world’s biggest battery carmaker, although BYD already beats Tesla when including figures for hybrid cars, which combine a battery with a petrol engine. The Chinese carmaker…
Trump announces US-China trade talks in London next week
Senior US administration officials will meet with a Chinese delegation on Monday in London for the next round of trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, Donald Trump said on Friday. The meeting comes after a phone call between Trump and the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, on Thursday, which the US president described as a “very positive” conversation as the two countries attempt to break an impasse over tariffs and global supplies of rare earth minerals. The treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and US trade representative, Jamieson Greer,…
British businessman accused of plotting to smuggle US military technology to China
A British businessman has been indicted in the US with attempting to traffic sensitive American military technology to China and silence a critic of the Chinese president. John Miller, 63, was named by US authorities at the weekend after his arrest in Serbia, where he is facing extradition in connection with an FBI investigation. The Mail on Sunday reported that he was from Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Both he and a Chinese man, Cui Guanghai, are wanted in the US on charges relating to conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and conspiracy,…
Academic with apparent ties to Beijing has forged links within UK parliament
An academic with apparent connections to the Chinese Communist party has forged links inside the UK parliament and met King Charles and Queen Camilla. Yu Xiong, a professor of business analytics at the University of Surrey and a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, has attended a dozen events in the House of Lords since 2022 and had regular contact with peers including Baroness Uddin, a cross-bencher. Xiong appears to be connected to the Chinese Communist party (CCP), having until May 2023 led a branch of the Western Returned Scholars Association (WRSA), which states…
Delegation of Labour MPs arrives in Taiwan in first visit since UK election
A group of five Labour MPs is travelling to Taiwan for meetings with government officials for the first time since Labour came to power. The Labour Friends of Taiwan delegation is due to land in Taipei on Sunday morning and is expected to meet senior government officials, parliamentarians, unions, businesses and civil society groups. It includes Navendu Mishra, the Labour MP for Stockport, Paula Barker of Liverpool Wavertree, Connor Naismith of Crewe and Nantwich, Gill Furniss of Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, and Tahir Ali of Birmingham Hall Green. The visit…
World’s seven wealthiest countries agree to counter China’s trade practices
Top finance officials from the world’s seven wealthiest democracies set aside stark differences on US tariffs and agreed to counter global “economic imbalances”, a swipe at China’s trade practices. In a communique issued on Thursday, the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors, meeting in the Canadian Rockies, left out their traditional defense of free trade and toned down their references to Russia’s war in Ukraine compared with last year. But they did agree that further sanctions on Russia could be imposed if the two countries do not…
Former prisoners and hostages urge Starmer to secure release of Jimmy Lai
Former prisoners and hostages wrongly held abroad have urged the UK prime minister to urgently secure the release of the pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai before he dies in a Hong Kong jail. The 77-year-old media mogul, who is a British citizen, has been held in solitary confinement for 1,602 days and his family fears he might not survive another summer in Hong Kong, where temperatures can reach 40C (104F). A letter to Keir Starmer signed by 22 people who were detained abroad and their family members, says he must act…
Trump tariffs could lead to surge of cheap Chinese vapes in UK, experts say
China is set to flood Britain with cheap vapes, researchers have said, as manufacturers seek to capitalise on the world’s second biggest market after Donald Trump’s tariffs. A trade standoff between Washington and Beijing has thrown the business world into chaos, with investors watching as each country dares the other to blink first. After last week’s uneasy truce, the total US import tax on Chinese-made vapes stood at about 60%. That has sent China’s $11.1bn (£8.4bn) e-cigarette export industry, already scarred by stringent domestic restrictions in 2022, back to the…
Nissan open to making cars for Chinese partner in Sunderland, says CEO
Nissan’s new chief executive has said the Japanese carmaker would be open to building cars for a Chinese partner at its factory in Sunderland as he confirmed it would not be closed in a round of deep cost cuts. This week Nissan revealed plans to close seven factories and cut 20,000 jobs after sustaining heavy losses. Ivan Espinosa said on Thursday the UK plant at Sunderland would not be among the factories to close and he would consider building cars for China’s Dongfeng. Sunderland, where it employs 6,000 people, is…