China‘s state TV has blacked out Premier League football matches as the diplomatic fallout between the UK and Beijing spreads to sport.
China Central Television (CCTV) played last night’s blockbuster tie between Liverpool and Chelsea on CCTV+5, rather than its main football channel CCTV-5.
And it is expected to dump the competition from screens for the rest of the year, reports suggest.
The final round of fixtures for this season are on the weekend, but none feature in CCTV’s schedule.
It is understood the contract CCTV holds does not mean it has to show the Premier League on a certain channel.
It was not immediately clear if the decision will affect the competition when it kicks off next season – starting around August.
China Central Television (CCTV) played last night’s blockbuster tie between Liverpool and Chelsea on CCTV+5, rather than its main football channel CCTV-5
The move comes amid a souring of relations between the West (right, Boris Johnson) and China (left, President Xi Jinping)
Founder of Shanghai-based research company China Skinny, Mark Tanner, told Bloomberg the move was ‘symbolic of what else could come following decisions around Hong Kong and Huawei’.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to ban Chinese tech firm Huawei from the UK’s 5G system has seen relations between the two nations sour.
Diplomatic disputes are also ongoing over the the national security law imposed on Hong Kong and China’s treatment of Uyghurs.
Today US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo notched up tensions between the West and China as he called for the PM to join an ‘alliance of the free world’ against it.
He accused Beijing of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to ‘further its own interests’.
Speaking in London, Mr Pompeo appealed to the UK to help build a global pact to ‘push back against the Chinese Communist Party’.
Mr Pompeo welcomed steps taken by the UK – including a ban on Huawei’s involvement in 5G networks and the suspension of an extradition treaty with Hong Kong – but he said countries needed to work together to increase pressure on Beijing.
In a combative address, he accused China of allowing a ‘preventable pandemic’ to take hold, adding: ‘The Chinese Communist Party’s exploitation of this disaster to further its own interests has been disgraceful.’
He said Beijing had been attempting to ‘bully’ its neighbours, claim territory which did not belong to it, and ‘steal intellectual property’ from the West.
In a further escalation of tensions last night, the US Department of Justice charged two Chinese nationals with hacking secrets worth hundreds of millions of pounds from western countries.
Mike Pompeo has urged Boris Johnson to join an ‘alliance of the free world’ against China as the US Secretary of State took aim at Beijing on his trip to Britain
Mr Pompeo, pictured with Foreign Secretary Mike Pompeo leaving No 10 this week, wants the UK to help build a global pact to ‘push back against the Chinese Communist Party’
Victims are alleged to have included a UK firm specialising in artificial intelligence and cancer research.
The moves came as Beijing warned Britain would face ‘consequences’ for recent actions, including the suspension of its extradition law with Hong Kong.
The Global Times newspaper, widely seen as a mouthpiece for the Beijing regime, warned that British firms could face reprisals.
It said trade talks could be ‘slowed or suspended’, adding that if the UK ‘upholds such a hostile attitude toward China, Beijing may have no other choice but to strike at British companies like HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover’.
Mr Pompeo’s comments followed talks with Boris Johnson in the Downing Street garden.
No10 said the two had agreed to work together on developing alternatives to Huawei in the West’s 5G communications network.
A spokesman said they had also discussed ‘shared global security and foreign policy issues, including China’s actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang’ where Beijing is accused of violations against the Uighur Muslim minority.
Mr Pompeo is thought to have urged the PM to follow the US in imposing sanctions on senior Chinese officials, including executives at Huawei.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who also held talks with Mr Pompeo, denied the UK had been ‘strong-armed’ but acknowledged tough US sanctions on Huawei had sparked a review of its status in the UK.
At a joint Press conference, Mr Pompeo urged the UK to back Donald Trump’s strategy to contain the Beijing regime.
He said: ‘We want every nation to work together to push back against the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts in every dimension. That certainly includes the United Kingdom.
‘It includes every country. We hope we can build a coalition that understands this threat, will work collectively to convince the Chinese Communist Party it’s not in their best interest to engage in this kind of behaviour.’
Earlier, Mr Pompeo held private talks with a group of MPs who want to see tougher action against China. A source said the US Secretary of State wanted the PM to help lead ‘an alliance of the free world against China’.
Mike Pompeo, pictured with Boris Johnson in the Downing Street garden yesterday, is said to have told MPs that the boss of the World Health Organisation had been ‘bought’ by China
Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith backed the call, saying: ‘The more countries that step up and stand together, the less chance there is that China can retaliate and pick them off. I’d like the Government to get ahead of the game on this.’
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy said: ‘Now the UK side has gone even further down the wrong road in disregard of China’s solemn position and repeated representations.’ Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming last night accused the UK of distorting the situation in Xinjiang province.
He was left squirming at the weekend after being confronted on The Andrew Marr Show with footage of blindfolded Uighurs being loaded on to trains.
But yesterday he hit back, saying: ‘Some Western politicians, including those from UK, turned a blind eye to the economic and social progress in Xinjiang and improvement of law and order thanks to counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation measures. We urge them to stop spreading the ‘lie of a century’ about Xinjiang.’
CCTV last year refused to broadcast live NBA matches after general manager of the Houston Rockets’ Daryl Morey showed support for Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters.