After several mainstream UK media outlets claimed that two men in the UK have been found guilty on charges of “spying for China,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in the UK have refuted the claims one after another.
By arresting and suing Chinese nationals in the UK without any factual basis, and securing the conviction by abusing the law and judicial process, the UK is blatantly endorsing those seeking to destabilize Hong Kong. Such groundless accusations and smears against China are nothing but a typical political stunt, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Friday in response to a question on the conviction of two men in the UK on charges of conducting espionage activities for China.
A Chinese expert noted that some UK agencies involved in intelligence and security affairs still display a noticeable “Cold War mentality.” Against the backdrop of improving momentum in China-UK relations, how to properly handle and respond to such alleged “Chinese spy” cases has become a test of the governance wisdom of the administration of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Some British media including the Guardian, Sky News and Reuters reported on Thursday local time that Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 38, and Chung Biu Yuen, 65, also known as Bill, were found guilty by the jury at London’s Old Bailey court of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
The Guardian claimed that the conviction makes them the first people in British history to be convicted of spying for China.
China strongly deplores and firmly opposes it, and has lodged serious protests against the UK, Lin said. “We urge the UK to rectify its wrongdoings, stop its political manipulation against China, stop emboldening the anti-China, destabilizing forces, and preserve the hard-won positive momentum in China-UK relations,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the UK said on Thursday local time that the Chinese side has made clear its principled position on the relevant case many times. The facts of this case clearly show that this is nothing but a political move of abusing the law and manipulating the judicial process by the UK side.
During the Cold War, a very typical political pattern between the UK, the Soviet Union, and Eastern European countries was the constant arrest of “spies”, the search for “suspicious individuals” and the construction of related accusations. Today in the UK, from some members of Parliament to certain government departments, this “Cold War mentality” remains quite evident, Cui Hongjian, professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Friday.
The UK security and intelligence agencies have been hyping so-called “spying activities” from China in the last several years.
But some cases have been dropped because the British government failed to provide evidence. For instance, charges against two men accused of spying for China were suddenly dropped in September 2025 because prosecutors could not obtain critical evidence from the government that Beijing represented a “threat to the national security of the UK”, the Guardian reported in October 2025.
Meanwhile, despite some spying allegations, the UK government approved the plan for China’s new embassy in London in January.
The actions of certain departments in the UK will undermine the current momentum of China-UK relations, which had been moving from easing tensions toward more positive development, Cui noted. “Against such a backdrop, how the Starmer administration handles and responds to similar so-called ‘Chinese spy’ cases is a test of its governing wisdom,” the expert said.
Despite such challenges arising in China-UK relations, Reuters reported on Friday that a cross-party delegation of British lawmakers will visit China this month for the first time since 2019, citing two sources familiar with the preparations. The report said this is a sign of warming ties since a visit in January by Starmer.
“In such a complex environment, the key is strengthening the ability of both sides to resist interference, because with every step forward in China-UK relations, their capacity to withstand and balance negative factors will become stronger,” the expert said.
