Liz Truss' nationalism punch against Rishi Sunak? UK PM candidate now blends China, Russia threat

WITH the race for the next British prime minister becoming intense and the two contenders -- Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss -- trying to make international issues such as China factor to become a part of the contest to show who has a bigger nationalistic vigour, Truss has decided to blend both the China and Russia factors to bolster her punch against her opponent.

On Thursday (28), Truss, who is currently the foreign secretary of Britain, said in a statement coinciding with the inaugural day of the Commonwealth Games that kicked off in Birmingham saying, “I will ensure the Commonwealth sits at the heart of my plans for Global Britain."

The 46-year-old outlined her vision for trade agreements that she would pursue if she becomes the premier and said that her government would give importance to a trade template with other Commonwealth nations under a 'New Commonwealth Deal'. She also said that her initiative would give an alternative to the influence of China, a country over which she has taken a tough stance.

“As one of the largest groups of freedom loving democracies, we must ensure there are clear benefits to remaining a member of the Commonwealth and offer nations a clear alternative to growing malign influence from Beijing,” Truss said, adding that prioritising trade within the Commonwealth grouping would boost its internal economic and security ties and give British businesses access to one of the largest trading blocs.

Truss's campaign said that the former believed that the Commonwealth, which doesn't feature either China or Russia, had a major role to play in geopolitical matters.

Truss slams Vladimir Putin

Meanwhile, Truss also took a dig at Russia suggesting president Vladimir Putin is holding the rest of the world to ransom over energy prices and trying to make Europe suffer.

According to a report in The Guardian, Truss was asked whether she thought "Vladimir Putin is effectively holding the rest of the world to ransom" by "cutting off supplies to Germany", and she said, “That is exactly what he is trying to do and it’s vitally important that we stay strong in the face of his appalling aggression," adding, “If we allow Vladimir Putin to succeed, it will cause untold misery across Europe.”

“We know that he would not just stop at Ukraine the east of Europe is under threat and democracy is under threat,” Truss said.

Russia's state energy body Gazprom announced on Monday (25) that it would cut gas flows to Europe,

The Kremlin refuted allegations that it is waging an "energy war" in Europe on Tuesday (26) and said that Gazprom has been supplying "as much gas as possible" to the European Union in response to demand.