The West and China could “miscalculate our path to nuclear war”, Britain’s national security adviser warned on Wednesday night.
Sir Stephen Lovegrove said the UK had “clear concerns” that Beijing was expanding and modernizing its nuclear arsenal, adding that China’s “disdain” for arms control agreements was a “daunting prospect”.
In a toughening of the UK’s stance, Sir Stephen warned that the world may no longer have the Cold War safeguards that prevented nuclear war with the USSR and raised the prospect of “uncontrolled conflict” between China and the West.
He said the world was entering a “dangerous new era of proliferation”, with threats from genetic weapons, space systems and lasers.
“We have to be honest: strategic stability is at risk,” Sir Stephen said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “We have to start thinking about the new security order.”
It came as Liz Truss warned of China’s “malign influence” as she unveiled plans to forge closer ties between the 56 “freedom-loving” Commonwealth nations.
The Tory leadership candidate’s plan, announced as the Commonwealth Games begin in Birmingham on Thursday, would speed up the signing of trade deals between member states.
“As one of the largest groups of freedom-loving democracies, we must ensure that there are clear benefits to remaining a member of the Commonwealth and offer nations a clear alternative to Beijing’s growing malign influence,” he said.
Meanwhile, a leaked newspaper cast doubt on his Conservative rival Rishi Sunak’s claims to be a China hawk. The Treasury document showed it was close to signing a new economic deal with Beijing earlier this year to make the UK the “preferred market” for Chinese companies.
Sunak has significantly hardened his line on China, describing it as the “biggest threat” facing the UK and vowing to ban Confucius Institutes from British universities. He hit back at Ms Truss, highlighting comments she made when she was environment secretary in 2016 that relations with Beijing were “entering a golden age”.
US President Joe Biden will confront his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Taiwan on Thursday in the pair’s first direct talks since March.
Concern is growing in Washington that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may have persuaded Xi to try to seize Taiwan earlier than expected.