China-UK ties thaw: Wang Yi urges that they ‘further communicate and align our positions’

China and Britain have pledged to enhance high-level exchanges and deepen cooperation amid a turbulent global landscape, following a meeting of their top diplomats in Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Tuesday that their countries needed to further communicate and align their positions.

“We need to … anchor ourselves to the positioning of a long-term and stable China-UK comprehensive strategic partnership, strengthen high-level exchanges, work to deliver more tangible and visible outcomes … and inject greater certainty into this turbulent and uncertain world,” Wang said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry read-out.

Cooper is on a three-day visit to China. It follows that of Keir Starmer’s high-profile trip to Beijing in January, the first by a British prime minister since 2018.

During that trip, Starmer and Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to bolster dialogue and cooperation as well as develop a long-term strategic partnership, with Xi calling for a “new chapter” in bilateral relations.

Xi Jinping urges stable partnership in talks with UK leader

On Tuesday, Wang stressed the roles both countries played as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and urged Britain to uphold multilateralism and join a push for a “more just and reasonable” global governance system.

South China Morning Post