UK Leadership Furious, Seeks “Reckoning” With China

The United Kingdom, incensed at the Chinese response to the outbreak, is questioning the Sino-British relationship beyond the pandemic. 

British prime minister Boris Johnson, joined by leading figures in his government and Parliament, is growing increasingly angry with the Chinese government for its handling of the early outbreak, attributing their delayed response and dishonest representation of the disease to the thousands of deaths currently being suffered in the UK.

Evidence points to an initial Chinese cover-up, during which time millions of Chinese residents continued to travel the world as potential carriers. Several top officials within Johnson’s government relayed their chief’s fury, with one stating that there would be a “reckoning” when the crisis ends.

British scientists have advised Johnson that the Chinese case count, and death toll, could be up to 40 times higher than the country’s reported numbers, as evidenced by intense cremation activity in Wuhan inconsistent with its official coronavirus figures. US intelligence confirms that China is underreporting its case count.

The ire with the Chinese misrepresentation, and the thousands of lives it has needlessly cost, is compounding a growing suspicion in the West of Chinese deception.

Huawei 5G Deal Reconsidered 

With Huawei’s 5G being adopted across the world, including most of Europe, the U.S. would be wise to reconsider whether a tech Cold War is really in its favor. Read this piece on what the next 10 years might have in store for yesterday’s superpower.https://t.co/jKGDGv5Nwe

— Geoekonomia (@Geoeconoman) January 2, 2020

The United Kingdom received backlash from two of its closest allies, the United States and Australia, over its willingness to allow Huawei, a state-owned Chinese telecom company, to play a significant role in developing the country’s 5G infrastructure.

Both Australia and the United States are extremely wary of the Huawei, reasonably assuming that it ultimately answers to The Chinese Communist Party.

Over the last two years, the United Kingdom broke from the other two countries on the issue, feeling that Huawei’s expertise and a dearth of other 5G infrastructure options made it worth the risk of network meddling by the Chinese government.

The potential deal had been a source of tension between President Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, culminating in a heated phone call last month in which the president reportedly hung up on his British counterpart.

Donald Trump, along with many American politicians and government officials, is highly suspicious of Huawei’s infrastructure projects in foreign countries.

Now, Johnson appears to be thinking twice about the project as well. The Chinese government’s apparent decision to cover up real case counts, and to completely hide the outbreak in its early days, has now cost thousands of British lives and brought the global economy to a standstill.

As a cabinet minister told the Daily Mail,

“We can’t stand by and allow the Chinese state’s desire for secrecy to ruin the world’s economy and then come back like nothing has happened… We’re allowing companies like Huawei not just into our economy, but to be a crucial part of our infrastructure. This needs to be reviewed urgently, as does any strategically important infrastructure that relies on Chinese supply chains.”

The Chinese, for their part, have used the pandemic to attack western democracy and, through state media and foreign officials, even pushed the conspiracy that the US military created the virus.

As the death toll and economic cost continue to grow in the West, leaders are becoming increasingly aware of China’s initial missteps, and increasingly angry with its misinformation campaigns.

The United Kingdom appears the latest western nation to rethink its relationship with China in the wake of the pandemic.