BEIJING: China on Tuesday (Dec 17) mentioned claims {that a} businessman had used his hyperlinks with Britain’s Prince Andrew to spy for Beijing have been “preposterous” after the UK authorities voiced mounting issues over the allegations.
Particulars emerged final week about Andrew’s relationship with Yang Tengbo, a businessman and alleged spy, who had been banned from Britain.
Requested in regards to the case whereas on a go to to Norway, Prime Minister Keir Starmer mentioned Britain was “involved in regards to the problem that China poses” however defended his strategy of “engagement” with Beijing.
A spokesman for Beijing’s overseas ministry mentioned on Tuesday that the “accusations of so-called Chinese language espionage are preposterous”.
“The event of China-UK relations is within the widespread pursuits of each nations and can also be conducive to selling world financial development and responding to international challenges,” Lin Jian mentioned.
“It’s hoped that the UK will work with China to build up extra optimistic elements and exhibit the 2 nations’ innate character of cooperation, mutual advantages and customary wins,” he added.
Yang, who was reportedly as soon as invited to Andrew’s party, mentioned in an announcement on Monday that he had “done nothing wrong or unlawful”, and had “fallen sufferer” to a altering “political local weather”.
“The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is solely unfaithful,” Yang added, noting he had opted to waive his anonymity and was interesting in opposition to the UK choice.
Starmer mentioned at a information convention in Bergen, Norway, that Britain’s strategy in direction of China concerned “cooperating the place we have to cooperate, notably, for instance, on points like local weather change, to problem the place we should and the place we must always”.
