Chinese King meets UK Foreign Minister after 7 years... Changed UK Policy

Prime Minister Starmer Also Attends, Emphasizing "Frank Dialogue"

Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, is speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting held at the UN Headquarters in New York on September 24 last year (local time). Director Wang Yi officially visited the UK on the 13th (local time) and met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy. /AP·Yonhap News Agency

Wang Yi, the chief of China's foreign affairs command and director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office of the Chinese Communist Party (concurrently serving as Foreign Minister), officially visited the United Kingdom on the 13th (local time) and met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

According to AP, AFP, and others, Lammy and Director Wang resumed the UK-China Strategic Dialogue in London that day, discussing economic cooperation between the two countries as well as international security issues including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Middle East wars.

The UK-China Strategic Dialogue had been suspended since July 2018, when then-Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt met with Director Wang in Beijing, and was resumed after about seven years.

During the previous Conservative government, relations with China were strained due to issues such as human rights and espionage allegations, but the Labour government inaugurated in July last year is seeking to improve relations by emphasizing "economic pragmatism."

Prime Minister Starmer also stopped by the venue of the dialogue between the two foreign ministers to emphasize his intention to build a consistent and respectful relationship between the UK and China, stating that the UK would engage in frank discussions on areas where there are differences of opinion. AP noted that Starmer's visit was "a signal that the UK side values this dialogue."

Before the talks with Foreign Secretary Lammy, Director Wang emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two countries amid an international environment where protectionism and other issues are controversial. He said, "In the current situation, it is more important than ever for China and the UK, as major countries, to fulfill their responsibilities, practice multilateralism, support free trade, advocate cooperation that benefits all, and promote political solutions to contentious issues."

Foreign Secretary Lammy said, "The UK and China do not always agree, and in some cases, we will discuss issues that the UK is seriously concerned about."