UK's threat hype over national security criticized

If some people in the United Kingdom are allowed to repeatedly hype up the absurd, illogical fallacy of "China's threat", which lacks basic common sense, "it will seriously impact Chinese companies' assessment of the UK's investment environment" and make them prudent in decision-making, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Thursday.

Guo made the comment in a response to recent voices in the UK opposing Chinese wind turbine giant Ming Yang's investment plan in Scotland.

On Oct 10, Ming Yang Smart Energy announced its plan to create the UK's first and largest fully integrated wind turbine manufacturing facility, to be located in Scotland.

"The three-phase project will involve investing up to 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) in a new wind turbine factory for offshore and floating offshore projects for the UK and for export, creating up to 1,500 new jobs, with a potential 1500 new jobs in later phases," the company said in a release on its website.

Reuters said the UK government, if it approves the investment plan, "risks running afoul of the growing push for energy nationalism".

When asked about such concerns, Guo noted that in recent years, numerous normal economic and trade projects in the UK have been impacted by being overly politicized and securitized.

"The Chinese government supports Chinese companies in carrying out international cooperation in accordance with laws and regulations and based on mutual benefit and the principle of fair competition on the market," he said. "At the same time, whether the security of Chinese investments can be guaranteed is also an important factor for consideration," he added.

He noted that since the entry into force of the UK's National Security and Investment Act in 2022, the UK government "has prohibited or approved with conditions more than ten Chinese investment cases".

Guo mentioned that the UK government took over the operations of British Steel, which was previously acquired by a Chinese private company.

Also, the UK government conducted retrospective reviews and ordered a Chinese company to divest its shares in a UK semiconductor firm it acquired, he said, which "undermines the investment security of Chinese enterprises under the pretext of so-called (national) security concerns".

"China has always opposed the practices of exaggerating the concept of national security and politicizing economic and trade issues," he said.