Rishi Sunak touted Britain’s ability to challenge powerful countries.

In recent years, China has been gradually ramping up its military presence on the global stage, and with the recent reelection of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the country has started to become more aggressive in its rhetoric and movements. For this reason, as well as concerns over Russia, several of the world’s powers, including the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom have begun drafting potential response plans in a new defense partnership.

A more assertive China poses a “systemic challenge” to the global order, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tells @LesterHoltNBC. https://t.co/Dya8Z8vXsm

— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) March 13, 2023

On Sunday, in an interview with NBC News, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged caution over China’s growing power and escalating rhetoric while also touting his country’s abilities as a global superpower.

“The behavior that we’ve seen in China over recent times is concerning,” Sunak said, adding that China is “acting in a more authoritarian fashion at home” and is “more assertive overseas.”

“China represents the biggest state threat to our economic interests, for sure. And it’s a systemic challenge for the world order,” he said.

Rishi Sunak pledged to increase U.K. military funding by £5 billion ($6 billion) over the next two years https://t.co/0PCxGAahpT

— TIME (@TIME) March 13, 2023

On a related note, Sunak pledged to continue his country’s efforts to support Ukraine against Russia’s ongoing invasion. “I think the best thing we can do to deter hostile action by any state anywhere is doing what we’re doing right now in Ukraine. And that’s where we’ve seen an illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia. And the right thing to have done in that circumstance is to provide Ukraine with all the support that it needs to defend itself,” he said.