Rishi Sunak says UK's 'so-called golden era' with China over

In his first major address on Foreign Policy, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak strongly asserted that the "golden era" between Britain and China is "now over" and that it is time to evolve the approach towards China as the country is posing a systemic challenge to UK's values and interest with its authoritarian rule.

During his address at the Lord Mayor's Banquet at London's Guildhall, Sunak also criticised the human rights abuses taking place in China while putting forward his stance on foreign policy.

"Let's be clear, the so-called 'golden era' is over, along with the naive idea that trade would lead to social and political reform. We recognise China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism," the UK Prime Minister said in his address.

The UK Prime Minister also expressed concern over the ongoing protests in China against COVID lockdowns and said that instead of listening to people's concerns, the Chinese government "has chosen to crack down further" as he highlighted the recent arrest and manhandling of BBC reporter in China.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Shanghai, where people were being bundled into police cars. Students have also demonstrated at universities in Beijing and Nanjing.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered in downtown Shanghai on November 28 afternoon to hold what appeared to be a silent protest near where a demonstration against China's zero-Covid policy erupted in the early hours.

(ANI)