Rishi Sunak won't ban Confucius Institutes in China despite promising to shut them down

Rishi Sunak has dropped the Confucius Institute ban in a sign that he is softening his stance on China. Photo: Alastair Grant/PA

Rishi Sunak will not ban controversial Chinese Confucius Institutes despite promising to close them.

During the campaign last summer, the Prime Minister promised to close 30 Chinese cultural institutes in the UK as he called China. «the greatest threat to the security and prosperity of Britain and the world in this century.»

However, he has now backed down from that decision in a sign that he is softening his stance on China.

Rep. Downing Street said: «We are taking action to end all public funding for Confucius Institutes in the UK, but we currently believe it would be disproportionate to ban them.»

“Like any international organization operating in the UK, the Confucius Institutes must operate transparently and within the law, and with full commitment to our values ​​of openness and freedom of expression.

“We recognize concerns about foreign interference in our higher education sector, including through Confucius, and regularly assess the risks facing the scientific community.”

'State-supported discipline'

Institutes based at universities across the UK have been set up to provide culture and language classes for international students.

However, they are accused of being a front for the Chinese Communist Party to suppress critical views of China.

A study published earlier this year by the UK-China Transparency charity. found that Confucius Institute staff are required to «impose government discipline» on Chinese students in the UK.

Last year, the Henry Jackson Society, a pro-democracy think tank, reported evidence that members of the Confucius Institutes in the UK are filtering their political views and ethnic backgrounds by Chinese officials.

Institutions have been banned in other countries such as Sweden , due to concerns that they are being used as cover for Chinese espionage. The US has placed a ban on the Confucius Institutes, limiting the funding of any university that hosts them.

«Isolated among the five eyes»

The Prime Minister was attacked by Conservative supporters over the U-turn.

Sir Ian Duncan Smith, former leader of the Conservative Party, said: “I have to tell the government that you are fundamentally wrong about China. Now you are almost isolated among the Five Eyes, our allies and so on, who take China much more seriously than we do. This is not good.»

Lise Truss used her trip to Taiwan this week to criticize the government's stance on China.

She said, «There are those who say I don't I want a new Cold War.

“But that's not a choice we can make. Because China has already begun self-sufficiency, whether we want to separate from their economy or not.»

The Chinese Embassy has previously defended the work of the Confucius Institutes, saying that «educational exchanges between China and the UK» should be considered «objectively and reasonably» , and «the huge public interest in learning more about Chinese language and culture» should be «respected and acknowledged.»