LONDON (Reuters) – Britain should have an “eyes wide open” approach to its relationship with China and remain robust in standing up for its values, finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday.
Relations between China and Britain have been strained in recent months over Hong Kong and the role of China’s Huawei in Britain.
Asked by LBC Radio if President Xi Jinping was a reliable partner, Sunak replied: “We should have an eyes wide open relationship with China, obviously it’s important to us in many ways, because of the supply of things and as a trading partner.
“We should be eyes wide open about where we have differing values and interests and we should be robust in standing up for those things and protecting ourselves.”
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Sarah Young)
