What kind of signal is released?, Senior officials from G7 member countries visit China in succession
The British Foreign Secretary for Development has just concluded his visit to China, and senior Italian officials will also begin their visit to China. For several months, all members of the G7 have sent high-ranking officials to China.
On September 1st, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced that at the invitation of Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Italian Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Tajani will make an official visit to China from September 3rd to 5th. Tajani will become the first Italian high-ranking official to visit China since the Meloni government took office in October 2022. Italy is China's fourth largest trading partner in the European Union, while China is Italy's largest trading partner in Asia. In 2022, the bilateral trade volume was 77.88 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%.
The highest ranking official of the British diplomatic system visited China for the first time in five years
Previously, UK Foreign Secretary Cleverley visited China on August 30th, marking the first visit by the highest head of the UK diplomatic system to China in five years.
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British Sky News reporter
It seems that the Foreign Minister's visit to China this time is aimed at pressing the restart button for bilateral relations.
The relationship between China and the UK has undergone significant changes in the past decade
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 exceeded 100 billion US dollars. In the past decade, China UK relations have undergone significant changes.
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Host of British Television Channel 4
Ten years ago, then British Prime Minister Cameron proposed that China UK relations would enter a "golden age". However, since then, the Johnson government has regarded China as a "systematic competitor", and the Truss government has defined China as a "threat". Now, the Sunak government has stated that it is wise to maintain contact with the UK's fourth largest trading partner.
There are signs of adjustment in the Sunak government's policy towards China
In recent months, there have been signs of adjustment in the UK government's policy towards China. In April this year, Cleverley gave a speech on the Sunak government's policy towards China. In his speech, he devoted a lot of space to introducing China's long history.
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British Foreign Secretary Cleverley
The invention of papermaking, printing, gunpowder, and compass by China has completely changed the fate of humanity. Understanding these inventions can help us understand why China has been the world's largest economy for 20 out of the past 22 centuries, and why China's economy accounted for one-third of the world's total in 1820, more than the sum of the United States, Britain, and Europe.
British Minister: Giving up dialogue with China is equivalent to giving up solving global problems
Cleverley stated that it is unrealistic and incorrect to define China at this stage simply and roughly using terms such as "opponent" or even "threat"; We cannot view China's development with a zero sum perspective; China's economic growth can also benefit the UK; Britain does not believe that conflicts between China, the United States, and even the entire Western world will inevitably occur, and all parties should not become prisoners of the Thucydidean trap. He emphasized that the West must recognize that without China's participation, no global problem can be solved.
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British Foreign Secretary Cleverley
Abandoning dialogue with China means giving up on solving the most important problems facing humanity.
The visit of the British Foreign Secretary to China has been widely welcomed by the British business community.
Former UK Prime Minister's National Security Advisor, Kim Darrow
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China's population accounts for 20% of the world's total, and its economic output ranks second in the world. China is crucial for us to make progress on climate change issues. Moreover, there is an important economic and trade relationship between the UK and China, and we need to be able to maintain the current level of trade with China, or even reach a higher level.
It is worth noting that since the end of 2022, all G7 member countries have sent ministerial level or even higher-level officials to visit China, following the successive visits of high-ranking officials from the UK and Italy.
Expert: Communication is better than "decoupling" to solve international problems, and China is indispensable