Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, has indicated Britain should choose a side as growing geopolitical tensions continue to rise between western nations and China.
Accusing Beijing of “coercive bullying tactics”, the top US diplomat said on Tuesday that America “stands ready to assist our friends in the U.K. with any needs they have”, from building nuclear power plants to developing 5G technology free of Chinese influence.
“Free nations deal in true friendship and desire mutual prosperity, not political and corporate kowtows,” he said.
In a statement, Mr Pompeo criticised HSBC for its “corporate kowtow” to Beijing after the bank publicly expressed support for a controversial national security law China has pledged to impose on Hong Kong.
The stance of the bank has put it at odds with the British government, which has condemned the law and set itself on a collision course with Beijing after offering to extend visa rights to almost 3m Hong Kong residents.
Mr Pompeo accused the Chinese government of using the bank’s business in China as “political leverage” against London and warned that China’s “attempted coercion” of the UK showed the need to avoid overreliance on the country.
“The United States stands with our allies and partners against the Chinese Communist Party’s coercive bullying tactics,” he said in a statement.
“In the latest example, Beijing has reportedly threatened to punish British bank HSBC and to break commitments to build nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom unless London allows Huawei to build its 5G network.
“Beijing’s aggressive behavior shows why countries should avoid economic overreliance on China and should guard their critical infrastructure from CCP influence.
“The United States stands ready to assist our friends in the U.K. with any needs they have, from building secure and reliable nuclear power plants to developing trusted 5G solutions that protect their citizens’ privacy. Free nations deal in true friendship and desire mutual prosperity, not political and corporate kowtows.”
Mr Pompeo did not give any details about the alleged pressure put on HSBC and the bank declined to comment on the secretary of state’s statement.
With increasing concerns that China did not disclose the initial scale of the coronavirus outbreak, Boris Johnson is already under increasing pressure to reset relations with Beijing.
The prime minister is facing mounting calls from Washington and from within his own government to reverse his decision to allow the Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei into the country’s 5G mobile network.
Last month, he signalled a tougher approach to the company after instructing ministers to start drawing up plans to force a full phase-out of the company from Britain’s telecoms infrastructure within three years.
But the prospect of a full ban on Huawei equipment has increased since last month, when a branch of GCHQ, the UK’s signals intelligence agency, launched an emergency review on the back of new US sanctions aimed at the Chinese company.
The US argues that Chinese companies are compelled to co-operate with Beijing’s espionage operations and that — contrary to reassurances by British intelligence officials — the risks of Huawei spying on UK communications cannot be mitigated.
The US had lobbied for an outright ban on the company, with Mr Pompeo warning on Tuesday that “Shenzhen-based Huawei is an extension of the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance state”.
But Scott Petty, chief technology officer of telecoms company Vodafone UK, warned in the Financial Times on Tuesday that the UK’s hopes of leading the world in 5G technology would be dealt a terminal blow if the government removed Huawei from its infrastructure.
“The UK’s leadership in 5G will be lost if mobile operators are forced to spend time and money replacing existing equipment,” he said.
In the UK nuclear industry China’s CGN is supporting France’s EDF by part-financing the construction of the Hinkley Point C and the development of the Sizewell C projects. It is also aiming to lead on another proposed atomic plant, at Bradwell in Essex, using its own reactor technology.
Additional reporting by Nathalie Thomas in Edinburgh
