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Orange Wang

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s visit to China last week could mark a “new starting point” for the two countries despite their deep-rooted disagreements in some areas, Chinese observers have said.
Lammy, the first cabinet minister to visit the country since the Labour Party’s election victory in July, finished his two-day tour on Saturday with a trip to Shanghai where he met the city’s mayor Gong Zheng.
More than two-thirds of British companies in China have their headquarters in Shanghai and the city looks forward to more “high-quality products, advanced technologies and special services” from the UK, Gong told his visitor.
“We welcome British companies … to continue to expand their investment in Shanghai in fields such as the green economy, the digital economy, advanced manufacturing, financial services and healthcare,” he said.

Lammy said the UK and Shanghai should cooperate in areas such as climate, finance, education, culture and sports.
But he also expressed Britain’s concerns over issues such as Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Beijing’s close relationship with Russia in a meeting with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Friday.
Wang said Beijing was willing to fully restart cooperation mechanisms with Britain, while Lammy said “engagement with China is pragmatic and necessary to support UK and global interests”.
The number of high-level meetings between the two sides has declined over the past decade or so as the two countries clashed over issues such as Hong Kong, the South China Sea and Xinjiang.
Meanwhile, Chinese investment in Europe in general is falling, except for China-friendly states such as Hungary.
“There are differences between the two sides … But the new government needs a new starting point, since the UK needs to revive its status as a great power, or bolster its economy,” according to Shi Zhiqin, a professor of international relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
He said the relationship between the two countries has faced “obstacles” for many years, but “over the past 20 years or so our fields of cooperation have been broad”.
He cited the extensive trade between the two countries and the large number of Chinese students studying at British universities, adding: “Although we say that the China-UK relationship is unlikely to have a big breakthrough, I think it will not continue to deteriorate and will develop in a good direction.”
He also said that with China also facing economic challenges at home, “the more external partners, the better” for the country.


“[Lammy] is trying to send a signal of actively promoting the repair and improvement of China-UK relations and at the same time separating political issues from economic issues,” Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said.
But he warned the relationship remained under pressure and it remained to be seen whether President Xi Jinping would meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Group of 20 summit next month in Brazil.
Before meeting with Gong, Lammy met British business leaders in Shanghai on Saturday, at an event that was co-chaired by Tom Simpson, managing director at the China-Britain Business Council.
The council said Lammy had “highlighted the new government’s approach to establishing stable and consistent engagement with China”.
Simpson said the visit had been “a real boost for the morale of the British business community”.
“We are encouraged by the new government’s approach and the prospect of sensible and hopefully sustained engagement with China,” he added.


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Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Shanghai’s Museum of Art Pudong. Photo: FCDO UK

Lammy met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing during the visit. Photo: AFP

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David Lammy has called for British foreign policy to be based on “progressive realism”. Photo: EPA-EFE

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British Foreign Secretary David Lammy  and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi  before their meeting in Beijing on Friday. Photo: AFP

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The two countries have pledged to cooperate in a number of areas, but lingering tensions remain


The two countries have pledged to cooperate in a number of areas, but lingering tensions remain.
