China Says UK Ties ‘Returning to Normal’ After Years of Tension
Britain should set out a path for more Chinese investment as relations between the two countries normalize, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said while welcoming his counterpart Yvette Cooper.
“Exchanges and cooperation across all fields have now fully resumed and are steadily returning to normal, something both sides should value,” Wang said Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary Cooper is the most high-profile UK official to visit Beijing after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s trip to China in January, which itself was designed to thaw relations that froze over issues such as Beijing’s alleged human rights abuses, and allegations of spying. China’s plans for a new embassy near the Tower of London were delayed for years amid political objections, before finally being approved by Starmer’s government earlier this year.
Cooper told Wang that the UK is willing to manage differences with China constructively, and deepen cooperation in trade, finance, energy, artificial intelligence and climate change. Wang called on the UK to provide Chinese companies with a “fair, just and non‑discriminatory” business environment and “reasonably define security boundaries.”
Tensions between the two countries remain in some areas. In March, the UK government blocked plans for a Chinese turbine maker to set up a factory in Scotland. Last month, Starmer pledged a step toward full nationalization of British Steel, after taking it over from its Chinese owner last year.
Cooper will visit Shenzhen, China’s tech hub neighboring Hong Kong, on Wednesday before traveling to India. The Foreign Secretary’s meetings with Chinese officials were expected to focus on global challenges including the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, war in Ukraine, and the Ebola outbreak in Africa, the UK government said before her trip.
bloomberg.com
