Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss will call on the G7 to provide more arms to Taiwan and prepare sanctions against China if they attack. That’s according to a Reuters report published Thursday about her scheduled conference speech. The speech is scheduled to be delivered on Friday at the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China taking place in Tokyo.
UK’s current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is also facing pressure from his party to toughen his stance on China. Some have called for him to change the official language describing China as a “systematic competitor” to a “threat”. Last year, Sunak said he would use “robust pragmatism” in relations with China, which some conservatives felt indicated a softening stance toward the country. Sunak will publicize his updated policy next month.
The report said that Truss will call on the governments to grant full diplomatic status to Taiwan, which would be a major policy shift for all the nations in the Group of 7. Truss will also state that she believes that the UK’s hosting of a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in 2015 was a mistake that sent the wrong message.