China on Tuesday called recent accusations that a Chinese businessman used his ties to Prince Andrew, brother of King Charles III, to spy for Beijing’s benefit, as “absurd.”
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Several press reports emerged last week in the United Kingdom regarding Prince Andrew’s relationship with this man named Yang Tengbo, who is now banned from entering that country.
Asked about the subject during a visit to Norway, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that the United Kingdom was “concerned by the challenge posed by China”, while defending a “dialogue” with Beijing.
“The accusations of so-called Chinese espionage are absurd,” reacted a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, on Tuesday during a regular press conference, adding that solid relations with London were “in the common interest of the two countries.
“We hope the British side will work with China to accumulate more positive factors and highlight the essence of cooperation, mutual benefit and shared gains between the two countries,” he added.
Yang Tengbo said in a statement published Monday that he had “done nothing wrong or illegal” and was a “victim” of the political climate, in reference to the growing suspicion of Western politicians, particularly British ones, towards of China.
On Monday, the British prime minister clarified that the UK’s approach to China was to “cooperate where we need to cooperate, including, for example, on issues like climate change”, and to “question when we must, particularly on human rights.”
