Sunak to promise curbs on China as UK’s ‘biggest long-term threat’

Leadership contender says he will close 30 Mandarin teaching programmes to restrain Beijing's soft power

China is the biggest long-term threat to Britain, Rishi Sunak will say on Monday as he unveils plans to curb the country's soft power by closing all of its 30 Confucius Institutes, which promote the teaching of Chinese language and culture, in the UK.

He will take on Liz Truss, his rival in the Conservative leadership race, by effectively accusing the foreign secretary and western leaders of having turned a blind eye to China's nefarious activity and ambitions" and call for a new Nato-alliance to be set up to counter it.