British Foreign Minister David Lammy arrived in China with a two -day official visit.
During his trip in the Beijing capital, he first met with the First Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council of the PRC, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPC Ding Suesyan.
According to information from the British Foreign Ministry, Lammy, upon arrival, noted that close contacts between China and Great Britain are “pragmatic and necessary”.
“We must more often and frankly discuss topics such as the illegal occupation of Russia in Ukraine, a global green transition, as well as those areas where cooperation corresponds to the national interests of Great Britain,” said the Foreign Minister.
Lammy became the first member of the cabinet to visit China after the Labor Party came to power in the UK in July.
Labor Government is aimed at a new chapter in relations
As expected, David Lammy will focus on restoring the relations that have been under the last 10 years that have been under the control of the Conservative Party during his meetings in China and pay special attention to the development of cooperation in the economic sphere.
Among Lammy’s priorities – the renewal of economic and financial dialogue between China and Great Britain, as well as attracting new Chinese investments in the country.
It is also reported that the UK Foreign Minister intends to urgently call on to refrain from providing political and economic support for Russia in connection with the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, human rights activists expect that the British minister will raise the issues of repression and violations of human rights in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.
Today Lammy will meet in Beijing with his Chinese colleague Van and, and tomorrow will visit Shanghai for negotiations with representatives of British business.
The relationship between Great Britain and China worsened significantly under the governments of the Conservative Party, especially with the advent of Teresa May in 2016. Disagreements on issues such as Hong Kong’s autonomy and democratic institutions, as well as problems with human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, went deeper, which led to a reduction in high -level contacts between countries.