British foreign secretary David Lammy is gearing up for a two-day China trip starting 10/20/24 (this Friday) The visit aims to mend fences between the two nations after a period of strained relations
Lammy will meet with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing‚ then head to Shanghai to connect with UK businesses operating in China A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated‚ “Its all about bringing a consistent long-term and strategic approach to managing the UKs position on China“ The UK is ready to challenge China when necessary but also seeks areas for teamwork
This marks only the second visit by a UK foreign minister in roughly six years‚ following James Cleverlyʼs trip about a year ago Before that there was a five-year gap in such visits
The Labour Party which won a big election victory in July‚ is trying to steady the ship with Beijing after clashes over human rights Hong Kong‚ and spying claims Starmer told President Xi Jinping in their first chat in August that he wanted closer economic ties while keeping the door open for honest discussions about disagreements
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and UK finance minister Rachel Reeves recently talked about boosting economic growth together After this‚ Beijing said it was open to restarting the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue – a yearly forum for talks on trade investment‚ and other money matters‚ which hasnt happened since 2019
Under the previous Conservative government Britain voiced worries about China limiting freedoms in Hong Kong (which was under British control until 1997) and its treatment of people in Xinjiang The two countries also traded accusations about supposed spying
China is the UKs sixth-biggest trading partner making up 5% of total trade according to British government data