Guo Jiakun, spokesperson of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Photo: Website of MFA

The Chinese side strongly deplores and is gravely concerned about the UK police's arbitrary and excessive law enforcement actions, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, in response to recent practices in UK border checks. 

Recently, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese embassy in the UK have received multiple reports of Chinese citizens being held and examined for extended hours by the UK police when entering and exiting the country, with their electronic devices including mobile phones seized, Guo Jiakun, the spokesperson, said at a regular press conference.

"We have lodged serious démarches with the UK and will take all necessary measures to keep Chinese citizens safe and protect their legitimate and lawful rights and interests," Guo said.

The spokesperson also reminded Chinese citizens planning to travel to the UK to read carefully the embassy's alert to avoid any inconvenience or loss.

In a notice on October 19, the Chinese Embassy in the UK said that recently, there have been multiple cases in which Chinese citizens were detained and questioned for extended periods by UK border enforcement officers when entering or leaving the UK, and had their mobile phones and other electronic devices confiscated. 

Those affected include members of Chinese trade and economic delegations visiting the UK, individuals visiting relatives on personal trips, and ordinary tourists, according to the embassy. 

The embassy reminds Chinese citizens already in the UK and those planning to travel there to raise their awareness of personal safety and security, protect their personal property and privacy, and familiarize themselves with relevant UK regulations and practices, so as to avoid inconvenience and losses when entering or leaving the country. 

The UK has increasingly overstretched the concept of national security in recent years, linking normal exchanges in trade, investment, personnel and education to so-called security threats, Li Guanjie, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies under Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times. 

Although British laws do not explicitly target China, selective enforcement against Chinese nationals may occur in practice, Li noted, warning against using national security as a pretext to obstruct normal people-to-people exchanges.

In an earlier safety advisory issued on December 16, 2025, the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the UK reported multiple similar cases and warned that British officers might invoke the country's counter-terrorism laws to conduct arbitrary inspections and prolonged questioning of travelers entering or leaving the UK.

Li pointed out that such practices will create further obstacles to normal exchanges between China and the UK, potentially affecting bilateral trade, tourism and educational cooperation. The UK is self-contradictory when it seeks to benefit from international business while simultaneously raising barriers to such exchanges under the pretext of national security, the expert noted, adding that such an approach could ultimately hurt the UK's own economic interests.