China agrees to resume dialogue with Britain, Wang Yi tells new UK foreign secretary
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is first cabinet member of new Labour government to meet Chinese leaders in Beijing since election win
China agrees to fully resume dialogue and cooperation with Britain, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Friday in Beijing.
Lammy’s two-day trip, which started on Friday, is his first official visit to China since becoming Britain’s top diplomat after the Labour Party won office in July.
Wang pledged that China would cooperate with Britain in a wide range of areas – trade, finance, green development, science and technology, healthcare and education. But he also stressed that both sides should respect each other’s concerns and conduct dialogue on the basis of equality to “create a good atmosphere for exchanges and cooperation”, according to a read-out from the Chinese foreign ministry.
Foreign nations should not meddle in China’s internal affairs, citing Hong Kong and Taiwan as two areas that remain off-limits, he reiterated to Lammy.
“The issues of Taiwan and Hong Kong are China’s internal affairs, and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs is a basic norm in international relations,” Wang said in their meeting.
“The Labour government proposes to develop a long-term, stable and strategic relationship with China – that we evaluate positively,” Wang said, adding that while the world faces unprecedented challenges, competition among major powers should not dominate global affairs.
