China ambassador warns of 'consequences' if Britain rejects Huawei

Britain will have to bear the consequences if it treats China as a hostile country when deciding whether to allow Huawei to be involved in the country’s telecommunications networks, the Chinese ambassador to Britain said on Monday.

“We want to be your friend. We want to be your partner. But if you want to make China a hostile country, you will have to bear the consequences,” Liu Xiaoming told reporters.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week he would proceed carefully on making a decision on Huawei because the government did not want any critical infrastructure to be controlled by “potentially hostile state vendors”.

He accused Britain on Monday of gross interference and making irresponsible remarks over Beijing’s imposition of new security legislation in Hong Kong that he said could damage future Chinese investment.

“The UK government keeps making irresponsible remarks on Hong Kong affairs,” Xiaoming told reporters in the strongest rebuke Beijing has issued to London since Britain criticised the security law.