China is willing to work with the United Kingdom to stabilise and improve bilateral ties and further cooperation in infrastructure, trade and investment, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday, quoting a minister.
Wang Yi made his first official visit to Britain in a decade on Thursday, where he held talks with the prime minister, foreign minister and national security adviser.
At the meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Wang said China and Britain need to strengthen strategic communication, enhance mutual trust and demonstrate responsibility as major countries.
“The recent China-UK financial dialogue has achieved fruitful results, and exchanges at all levels have been resumed, demonstrating the great potential of practical co-operation between the two countries,” Wang said, referring to an economic and financial dialogue between the two nations in Beijing last month.
The Labour government, in power in Britain since July, has made improving ties with China one of its top foreign policy goals after a period when relations fell to their lowest level in decades under successive Conservative governments.
Starmer told Wang he wanted a “consistent and respectful” relationship between their countries when he walked into Wang’s scheduled meeting with national security adviser Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s spokesman told reporters.
The two countries agreed on further steps for bilateral exchanges and co-operation, and will accelerate preparations for institutional dialogues on economy and trade, health and industrial cooperation, the Chinese ministry said.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he discussed international security, the war in Ukraine and the Middle East with Wang. However, Lammy said he would continue to challenge China over the jailing of Hong Kong democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai, human rights and sanctions on British parliamentarians.
Wang “comprehensively” explained China’s stance on the war in Ukraine and urged “not to expand the battlefield, escalate hostilities and fan the flames,” the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Wang said that China welcomes all efforts aimed at peace talks and supports the establishment of a “balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture.”
