BEIJING: British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will visit China on Wednesday, the two countries said Tuesday, as Beijing and London seek to shift the turbulent recent ties onto surer footing.
Cleverly will become the first UK foreign secretary to visit China since Jeremy Hunt in 2018.
Ties have soured since then over problems including technology, human rights, and Beijing’s crackdown in the former British colony of Hong Kong.
The foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that it is hoped that the United Kingdom will work alongside China in upholding a spirit of mutual respect, enhance understanding, conduct in-depth exchanges, and promote the stable development of bilateral ties, according to AFP.
He said that as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and major economies in the world, China and the UK shoulder the shared responsibility of promoting global peace, stability, and development.
British Foreign Secretary’s Meetings
Britain’s foreign office said Cleverly would hold meetings with top diplomat of China Wang Yi and vice president Han Zheng.
He will discuss human rights issues in Hong Kong and China’s troubled Tibet and Xinjiang regions, as well as cybersecurity, tensions in the disputed South China Sea, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Cleverly said that no significant global issue — from pandemic prevention to climate change, from nuclear proliferation to economic instability– can be solved without China.
He said that China’s size, global importance, and history means it cannot be ignored, but that comes with a responsibility on the world stage.
Cleverly’s trip was initially likely to take place last month but was postponed due to the mysterious disappearance of China’s now ex-foreign minister Qin Gang.
Cleverly has called for a constructive, pragmatic, and united Western approach to Beijing’s rising clout, acknowledging the need to work in partnership with China.
But hawkish elements in the United Kingdom’s ruling Conservative party have urged London to take a tougher stance on Beijing.
