China Says Some British Politicians Cling to Cold War Mentality

"These actions have seriously poisoned the atmosphere of China-UK relationship," China's Ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming told reporters on Thursday, according to Sputnik.

"Some British politicians cling to the Cold War mentality... They play up the so-called China threat, see China as a hostile state, threaten a complete decoupling from China and even clamour for a new Cold War against China," the ambassador added. 

He also stated that if the UK wants to "decouple from China, it is decoupling from the future". 

"It is not China but those on the other side of the Pacific that want to start a new Cold war," the ambassador noted addressing the UK.

This comes after UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced that London was suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong "immediately and indefinitely". He explained that the adoption of the new security law in Hong Kong by Beijing was a "serious violation" of the country's international obligations. According to London, the new law violates the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984, which guarantees Hong Kong's autonomy after its handover to China in 1997. Beijing accused the UK of meddling in its domestic affairs and insisted that it had not violated any obligations by adopting the new security law. 

The UK's criticism of China's law on Hong Kong came shortly after London made a U-turn on the role that Chinese tech giant Huawei could play in developing 5G infrastructure in Britain. After allowing Huawei to take part in building the 5G network in the UK in January, months later London backtracked on its decision, citing alleged security threats to its telecoms.