The endorsement that nobody wanted: Beijing backs Sunak
AS the Tory leadership race reaches fever pitch, the battle is on for every last backer.
But there’s one vote of confidence all of the candidates would happily do without – the Chinese Communist Party.
Sadly for Rishi Sunak – who’s not exactly short of support as the contest’s frontrunner – the dubious honour has fallen to him.
China’s largest state tabloid has praised the former chancellor for his relatively soft stance on Beijing and ‘pragmatic view’ on strengthening ties with the country.
Global Times, a sister publication of Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, singled him out for his record of pushing for trade talks with China.
Earlier this year Mr Sunak called for a ‘complete sea change’ to revive UK-China relations.
While ‘most of the candidates hold a tough stance on China’, the Global Times report said, ‘only one of them [Sunak] has a clear and pragmatic view on developing UKChina ties’.
The piece also quoted an expert who warned that Penny Mordaunt could hold ‘an even tougher stance’ than Boris Johnson.
While the tabloid stopped short of an outright endorsement, there have been concerns over Beijing’s mouthpiece singling Mr Sunak out.
A government source said: ‘ It’s worrying that China – which is the biggest strategic threat to the West and our democratic values – seems to want Rishi as our next PM. What does that say about him?’
Mr Sunak has been less hawkish on China than many of his ministerial colleagues, despite tensions over trade, human rights abuses and Hong Kong.
In his Mansion House speech last year, he suggested that improving trade ties with China was a priority for Britain.
‘Too often, the debate on China lacks nuance,’ he said.
‘The truth is, China is both one of the most important economies in the world and a state with fundamentally different values to ours. We need a mature and balanced relationship. That means being eyes wide open about their increasing international influence and continuing to take a principled stand on issues we judge to contravene our values.’
The lucrative Chinese subsidiary of Infosys, an Indian IT firm founded by Mr Sunak’s father-inlaw Narayana Murthy, employs 3,300 workers at its offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Dalian, Hangzhou and Jiaxing.
Mr Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty owns a £700million stake in Infosys.
‘Clear and pragmatic view’