BEIJING: China on Tuesday (Dec 17) said claims that a businessman had used his links with Britain’s Prince Andrew to spy for Beijing were “preposterous” after the UK government voiced mounting concerns over the allegations.
Details emerged last week about Andrew’s relationship with Yang Tengbo, a businessman and alleged spy, who had been banned from Britain.
Asked about the case while on a visit to Norway, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was “concerned about the challenge that China poses” but defended his approach of “engagement” with Beijing.
A spokesman for Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the “accusations of so-called Chinese espionage are preposterous”.
“The development of China-UK relations is in the common interests of both countries and is also conducive to promoting world economic growth and responding to global challenges,” Lin Jian said.
“It is hoped that the United Kingdom will work with China to accumulate more positive factors and demonstrate the two countries’ innate character of cooperation, mutual benefits and common wins,” he added.
Yang, who was reportedly once invited to Andrew’s birthday party, said in a statement on Monday that he had “done nothing wrong or unlawful”, and had “fallen victim” to a changing “political climate”.
“The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue,” Yang added, noting he had opted to waive his anonymity and was appealing against the UK decision.
Starmer said at a news conference in Bergen, Norway, that Britain’s approach towards China involved “cooperating where we need to cooperate, particularly, for example, on issues like climate change, to challenge where we must and where we should”.
