(Bloomberg) -- The British government summoned China’s ambassador to the UK amid a diplomatic row over the arrest of a British Broadcasting Corp. journalist covering pandemic lockdown protests in Shanghai.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called in Zheng Zeguang over the treatment of cameraman Edward Lawrence, who the BBC said was “beaten and kicked” by police. On Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the “golden era” of UK-Chinese relations is over, though he also warned against falling back on “simplistic Cold War rhetoric.”

UK’s Sunak Rejects ‘Simplistic’ Cold War Rhetoric on China

A call to Zeguang’s spokesman for comment was not immediately returned. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Monday the UK broadcaster’s statement doesn’t reflect the facts. “Based on what we have learned from the relevant authorities of Shanghai, the journalist did not identify himself as a reporter and did not voluntarily present his press credentials,” he said.

It’s the second time in less than two months that Britain has summoned a senior Chinese diplomat. Last month, Cleverly summoned China’s chargé d’affaires over allegations a Chinese diplomat oversaw the attack of a Hong Kong man staging a peaceful protest in Manchester.

The latest summons came on the day the UK announced it is buying out investment from a Chinese state company, China General Nuclear power Corp, from the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk, forcing out Chinese investment from critical national infrastructure. 

Meanwhile members of the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee said Tuesday they had arrived in Taiwan and will meet officials over the next few days amid strained UK relations with China. The committee will meet President Tsai Ing-Wen, the Secretary-General of the National Security Council, Wellington Koo, and Premier and President of the Executive Yuan, Su Tseng-Chang during the trip. The lawmakers remain until Saturday. 

The move could exacerbate tensions as China claims Taiwan as its territory. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to the island in August prompted Beijing to muster a range of military and diplomatic retaliations, including dispatching warships and military aircraft to all sides of the self-governing island democracy, and firing ballistic missiles into the waters nearby.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.