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Britain and China, signs of reconciliation during the visit of the British diplomat to Beijing

2024-10-18 22:21:16, Kosova & Bota CNA

Britain and China, signs of reconciliation during the visit of the British

China and Britain took steps towards further reconciliation on Friday as Beijing echoed the new Labor government's plan to develop "pragmatic" bilateral ties.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is the second British top diplomat to visit China in six years. His trip aims to show that Britain is taking a strategic approach to building ties with Beijing, despite the differences.

"China-Britain relations are now in a new phase," said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting with his British counterpart in Beijing.

"Competition between great powers should not define this era."

Secretary Lammy mentioned readiness for "mutually beneficial cooperation" in areas such as environment, energy, science, trade and technology. However, he warned that Britain would "always put its national interests and security first".

Beijing and London must "show that our countries, with different histories and views, still find pragmatic solutions to complex challenges," he said.

The Labor government, elected in July, wants to show it is serious about relations with China. The British government must strike a balance between its desire to cooperate with China on economic and global issues with the challenge posed by Beijing's support for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Minister Wang added that Beijing appreciates the new Labor model for developing relations as "positive" because it "matches the current needs of bilateral relations".

Secretary Lammy will also meet with Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, who is in charge of science and technology, in Beijing on Friday. The following day he will travel to Shanghai to meet British businesses operating in China.

Ahead of the visit, Secretary Lammy said engagement with China was "necessary to support UK and global interests".

Secretary Lammy's visit is not expected to bring major diplomatic deals. Mao Ning, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said the talks will focus on improving cooperation in various fields.

Britain's relationship with China, under the previous British government, was strained by clashes over human rights, Hong Kong and allegations of Chinese espionage.

Earlier this year, Britain said it was extremely concerned after Reuters news agency reported that Russia had built a factory in China to produce long-range attack drones to be used in the war against Ukraine.

Britain has made major changes in its approach to China in the past decade, moving from declaring it wanted to be China's biggest supporter in Europe to being one of its fiercest critics. Now, Britain is again trying to improve relations under the new Labor government.

The new British government has ordered a whole-of-government review of Britain-China relations. She has said that after this assessment, she will have a clear relationship with China, given the accusations of cyber attack and Chinese espionage.

Meanwhile, China faces deteriorating relations with the European Union over various trade protection measures, as well as strained ties with the United States.

China is Britain's sixth largest trading partner, accounting for 5% of total trade, according to British government figures./ VOA