Liz Truss today fired a warning shot at Beijing as she said the UK will be 'tough' on countries that 'don’t play by the rules'. The Foreign Secretary said 'it is important we trade with China ' but that trade must be 'reliable' and avoid 'strategic dependency'. Ms Truss also took aim at what she described as the 'voices of decline' as she argued 'Britain’s best days are ahead of us'. Liz Truss today fired a warning shot at Beijing as she said the UK will be 'tough' on countries that 'don’t play by the rules' The UK and China relationship has been strained in recent years amid rumbling rows over human rights abuses and the treatment of Hong Kong. Ms Truss, who replaced Dominic Raab as Foreign Secretary in the middle of September, adopted a firm stance on links with Beijing this afternoon. She told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester: 'We will also be tough on those who don’t share our values and don’t play by the rules. 'It is important we trade with China, but we must make sure it is reliable trade, that it avoids strategic dependency and that it does not involve the violation of intellectual property rights or forced technology transfer. 'The world is safer and more prosperous when countries abide by their international obligations.' Ms Truss said Britain will 'reach out to more countries who haven’t historically been aligned to Britain' in order to 'encourage a freer, more prosperous world'. The Foreign Secretary also took aim at the Labour Party after its members voted to condemn the AUKUS defence pact at their conference in Brighton last week. The deal was welcomed by Sir Keir Starmer and other members of the shadow Cabinet but the party's grassroots voted overwhelmingly against it, claiming it undermines world peace. The UK and China relationship has been strained in recent years amid rumbling rows over human rights abuses and the treatment of Hong Kong. Chinese President Xi Jinping is pictured in Beijing on September 30 this year Ms Truss said the vote against the pact, which will provide Australia with its first ever fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, showed how 'out of touch' Labour is. She added: 'Jeremy Corbyn may no longer be leader, but the same spirit lives on the Labour Party.' The Cabinet minister also expressed optimism about Britain's post-Brexit future, telling Tory activists: 'I reject the voices of decline. I believe that Britain’s best days are ahead of us.'
