The new chairman of the British Foreign Affairs Committee Alicia Kearns has claimed that London is currently at war with China, referring to the East Asian country as one with terrorist like behaviour. “We have focused on terrorists that behave like states rather than states behaving like terrorists… The reality is, whether we like it or not, we are in a form of warfare with China,” she stated to this effect. The statement comes amid growing divisions in the Western world over how hard a line should be taken against Beijing, which remains by far the largest economy outside the Western sphere of influence and without a Western military presence on its territory.
China’s refusal despite considerable pressure to join Western economic warfare efforts against Russia since February has been repeatedly cited in the West as a sign that Beijing poses a threat. Only three non-Western countries, however, have joined the West in imposing sanctions, namely Japan, South Korea and Singapore, meaning China’s neutral position mirrors that of the largely majority of the international community and is far from unique. Britain alongside Australia and a number of Eastern European states has been a leader in calling for a harder line by the Western world collectively against Beijing, with Chairman Kearns’ statement reflecting growing sentiments in London as the East Asian state’s growing economic clout, dominance in high tech and military prowess are seen as the leading challenge to the perpetuation of Western-led world order.