The British Foreign Secretary's first visit to China in 5 years! This meeting has profound significance

On August 30th, British Foreign Secretary Cleverley visited China. This is Cleverley's first official visit to China since taking office, and the first British Foreign Secretary to visit China in five years since Jeremy Hunter's visit in July 2018.

According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on August 30th, Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, held talks with Cleverley in Beijing.

Last October, James Cleverley re served as the UK Foreign Secretary. He served as the Secretary of State for Education in July 2022 and was appointed as the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs by former British Prime Minister Thomas Truss in September of that year. Cleverley was also the first African American Foreign Secretary in British history.

In the meeting on August 30th, Wang Yi told Cleverley that you have been looking forward to visiting China, which reflects your importance to China and a positive attitude towards China. China and the UK should carry out and strengthen normal exchanges in all aspects.

The Governor of Chang'an Street noticed that Cleverley had previously expressed his willingness to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Chinese side on multiple occasions.

On February 18th, Wang Yi met with Cleverley as scheduled during his attendance at the Munich Security Conference. Cleverley stated that the UK hopes to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with China and is willing to cooperate with China to address global challenges.

On July 14th, Wang Yi had a brief conversation with Cleverley as requested in Jakarta. In this conversation, Cleverley expressed his expectation to maintain high-level exchanges and strategic communication with China, adding positive factors to bilateral relations.

On August 30th, during the meeting, Wang Yi stated that from the perspective of historical evolution, China UK relations are facing a strategic choice of where to go.

Reference News: Previously, citing a report from the South China Morning Post, it was pointed out that during the 5-year interval between the visits of the two British Foreign Ministers to China, the entire world and the relationship between China and the UK have undergone significant changes.

British Prime Minister Sunak advocated a more subtle strategy than his predecessors, Truss and Johnson, and called on Britain to "improve" its foreign policy. Sunak stated in November last year that the golden age of UK China relations has come to an end, and the UK needs to focus on economic security when dealing with Beijing.

But six months later, in April of this year, Cleverley said, "We must face an unavoidable reality that no major global problem - from climate change to epidemic prevention and control, from economic turmoil to nuclear proliferation - can be resolved in the absence of China."

On the day before his visit to China, Cleverley reiterated, "Without China, no major global problem can be solved." He stated that it is very important to handle the relationship between the UK and China well.

It can be seen that the new British government has gained a new understanding of China. In this context, Wang Yi has expressed China's attitude, which is also China's sincerity——

The Chinese side has always attached great importance to the great power status and unique role of the United Kingdom, and is committed to developing stable and mutually beneficial Sino British relations. It has always believed that Sino British cooperation has a global impact. Dialogue and cooperation are the key words and main tone of China's policy towards the UK.

In January 1950, the British government announced its recognition of the People's Republic of China. In March 1972, the two countries signed a joint communiqu é upgrading their diplomatic relations to ambassadorial level. In 1998, the two countries established a comprehensive partnership. In May 2004, the two countries announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the UK.

The relationship between China and the UK has gone through exploration and is still resilient, spanning over half a century. Although the relationship between the two countries has faced some difficulties and challenges in recent years, in a broader historical perspective, the consensus between the two countries is greater than the differences, and the space for cooperation is greater than the reserved opinions.

Finding these "greatest common divisors" is not only beneficial for both countries, but also for the world. Wang Yi pointed out several directions to Cleverley——

In the face of the ever-changing and intertwined international situation, as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and the UK should demonstrate great power responsibility, cooperate to address global challenges, and maintain world peace and stability;

As a comprehensive strategic partner, we should cherish the hard work and dedication of the leaders and all sectors of the two countries so far, and promote the development of China UK relations forward rather than backward;

As a major trading and financial country, it is necessary to strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination and inject strong impetus into the recovery of the world economy;

As a historical and cultural power, we should strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, advocate dialogue among civilizations, and play a constructive role in reducing barriers and conflicts in human society.

The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out at the time that the British Foreign Secretary should obviously make up for the history class well. "The One China principle is the political foundation and prerequisite for the establishment and development of diplomatic relations between China and the UK. Over 50 years ago, the UK made it clear in the joint communiqu é on the exchange of ambassadors that Taiwan is a province of the People's Republic of China and recognized the government of the People's Republic of China as the only lawful government of China."

Four months later, based on Cleverley's official statement in Beijing, it seems that he may have already made up for this lesson.

Cleverley also stated during the meeting that the British side is committed to strengthening communication with China, taking positive actions to solve difficulties, enhancing understanding, and embracing opportunities. British companies look forward to more cooperation with China and exploring the Chinese market. The two governments should work together to strengthen economic and trade ties, unleash economic vitality, strengthen cooperation in fields such as technology, artificial intelligence, and green energy, and benefit future generations.

According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UK is China's third largest trading partner, second largest investment destination, and third largest source of foreign investment in Europe, and China is the UK's largest trading partner in Asia. In 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and the UK reached 103.3 billion US dollars.

The cooperation space between the two countries in bilateral economic and trade fields, as well as in solving global problems, is very broad, and dialogue and communication are the starting point of win-win cooperation.

The Global Times cited British media reports that during his visit to China, Cleverley told the media that the UK is "clear" about its differences with China, but hopes to establish a pragmatic relationship with China. He stated that attempting to isolate China as the world's second-largest economy would be a mistake.

"China is an important country, a great power, an influential country, and also a complex country, so our relationship with China is inevitably equally complex and delicate." Cleverley said, "We must establish a pragmatic and rational working relationship with China, because these issues affect all of us globally."

As many netizens have pointed out, a single meeting may not solve many problems, but we sincerely hope that Cleverley can bring the friendly atmosphere and consensus of this meeting back to the UK, laying the foundation for removing interference barriers and opening up broad prospects for the relationship between the two countries.