UK chooses fights as it seeks its place in a post-Brexit world

Bloomberg

The UK has stepped up its criticism of Beijing and Moscow as it seeks to establish a place for itself in the world after Brexit.
China’s ambassador to London warned of “consequences” if Britain treats his country as a “hostile” power in its dealings over Hong Kong and Huawei Technologies Co, while Russian officials topped the list of people sanctioned for human rights abuses, sparking a threat of retaliation from the Kremlin.
“As we forge a dynamic new vision for a truly global Britain, this government are absolutely committed to the United Kingdom becoming an even stronger force for good in the world,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Parliament as he introduced the sanctions. He pledged “to keep the flame of freedom alive for those brave souls still suffering in the very darkest corners of the world.”
The announcement of targeted sanctions on 49 individuals and organisations for human rights abuses immediately sparked calls from senior lawmakers in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party for similar curbs on China.
The demands highlight a tension for the UK as it seeks trade deals around the world after Brexit while trying to assert itself as a champion of freedom. The country is now free to set its own sanctions regime, after leaving the European Union in January.
For Johnson, the difficulty is balancing his desire to crack down on international violations against the risk of exposing the UK to potential retaliation from sanctioned countries.
“Britain’s future means balancing different interests and some tough choices,” said Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative and chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. “But to get through this we need to remember what really matters and hold on to core beliefs — none more than the rule of law.”
Tugendhat was joined by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith as senior MPs called for the sanctions, currently limited to Russia, Myanmar and North Korea, to be extended to Chinese officials for the suppression of protests in Hong Kong and human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang. Some said Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam should be added to the list.
Raab didn’t rule out including Chinese nationals and said he is already working on the next round of sanctions, which he told MPs are “a forensic tool” and have to be legally watertight before they are applied.
The escalation of tensions came after it emerged Britain is preparing to phase Huawei out of plans for fifth-generation telecommunications networks, sparking a robust response from Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador in London.
He accused the UK of following the bidding of the US over the Chinese technology giant and criticised its response to a crackdown on demonstrations in Hong Kong. Last week Johnson offered a fast-track to citizenship to almost 3 million residents of Britain’s former colony.
“We want to be your friend, we want to be your partner, but if you want to make China a hostile partner you have to bear the consequences.” Liu said on a video call with reporters. “If you dance to the tune of other countries, how can you call yourself Great Britain?”
A report from the UK’s National Cybersecurity Centre concluded that new US sanctions mean Huawei will have to
use untrusted technology, making security risks impossible to control.