A CHINESE minister has hit out at Keir Starmer for interfering with the proposed construction of a major £1.5 billion wind turbine factory in Scotland.

The Chinese firm, Mingyang, announced in October its plans to build the UK’s largest wind turbine manufacturing facility in Ardersier in the Highlands, which it said would create as many as 1500 jobs.

Under the first of three phases, Mingyang said it will invest up to £750 million in an advanced manufacturing facility – with the first production taking place by late 2028.

However, the proposals may be blocked by the UK Government on national security grounds.

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Ian Williams, an expert in Chinese affairs, warned at the weekend that the Highland factory could give China “enormous” power over Scotland and the UK’s electricity grid, which he said posed “an enormous threat”.

Williams also said the company, one of the biggest in the Chinese wind sector, had links to the Chinese Communist Party, and Chinese law means companies in the country are obliged to work with security services.

Guo Jiakun, a foreign ministry spokesperson for the Chinese government, has hit back at the UK Government for interfering with the proposal, according to The Global Times, which is controlled by the CCP.

He said: “In recent years, normal economic and trade projects in the UK have frequently been subjected to politicisation and overreach in the name of national security.”

Jiakun reportedly added: “Unfortunately, some people in the UK are constantly rehashing absurd, ridiculous, and ignorant ‘China threat’ fallacies.

“If this trend is allowed to spread, it will seriously impact how Chinese companies assess the investment environment in the UK and cause them to make cautious decisions.”

Jiakun’s comments come amid a stand-off between China and the UK over each other’s embassy plans.

Meanwhile, John Swinney defended meeting with Mingyang to discuss the potential investment in Scotland.

Speaking from Malawi on Monday, the First Minister warned that the renewables industry in Scotland would be “set back” if the proposals are rejected.

“They [Mingyang] are an investor interested in investing in Scotland and I think people would be very surprised if the Government of Scotland was not talking to investors about the potential to invest in renewable energy technology,” he told LBC.

“There is, obviously, a level of interest, and an important interest in this respect, from a national security perspective, which is the responsibility of the UK Government, and the Scottish Government will be working in close consultation with them to understand and to consider the issues of national security that are relevant to be addressed in this particular case.”

The UK Government has yet to confirm whether it will allow the project to go ahead.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “This is one of a number of companies that wants to invest in the UK.

“Any decisions made will be consistent with our national security.”