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A protester seeks to cover the Hong Kong emblem with the British colonial flag, inside the Hong Kong Parliament, on 1 July 2019. Anthony WALLACE / AFP

The tone between London and Beijing has only gone up since last Monday: China does not like, but not at all, that the United Kingdom has dared to fly to the rescue of protesters in Hong Kong who have been fighting for weeks against a draft of law allowing extradition to China, a project currently suspended.

It is no longer a question of "the Sino-British Golden Age," as during the Chinese President's visit to the United Kingdom in 2015. Neither are juicy trade deals like in 2018, when Prime Minister Theresa May was visiting China.

Relations have cooled since Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt expressed his country's " unwavering support " for " Hong Kong and its freedoms " on the very day of the 22nd anniversary of China's surrender of the territory. and while hundreds of young people had just sacked the local Parliament.

Away from campaigning to stress UK support for Hong Kong and its freedoms is UNWAVERING on this anniversary day. No violence is acceptable but HK people have the right to peaceful protest.

Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) July 1, 2019

The next day, the minister even threatened China with " grave consequences " if it did not respect the 1984 agreement that guarantees independent justice and freedom of expression for Hong Kongers.

Beijing's scathing reply

Beijing's scathing response: London " still seems to be plunged into the fantasies of settlers, " denounced during a press briefing Geng Shuang, a spokesman for Chinese diplomacy. Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, not to be outdone, then called on the UK to " refrain from further interference that could further damage the relationship ." Liu Xiaoming said he was "very disappointed" that British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt is showing his " support for people who violate the law ." Statements that earned him a notice to the British Foreign Office.

This war of words must go straight to the heart of the rebellious youth in Hong Kong, who had deployed the flag of the colonial era in Parliament, like a signal of distress sent to London.