 "Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had their first official phone call on Friday afternoon. Reuters File")
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and said that both countries should take a “long-term and strategic view” of their relationship and step up dialogue and cooperation.
According to South China Morning Post report, citing state broadcaster CCTV, the call, made at Starmer’s request, is the first between Xi and Starmer since March 2022, when the president spoke with then leader Boris Johnson.
“China is willing to carry out dialogue on an equal footing with the British side on the basis of mutual respect, understanding and trust … to make mutual benefit and win-win cooperation the main keynotes of China-UK relations,” Xi was quoted as saying.
Xi emphasised that China highly values Britain’s interest in increasing engagement and dialogue. He expressed a strong willingness to sustain communication at all levels to advance stable and meaningful China-UK relations, reported South China Morning Post.
He suggested that the two countries could enhance cooperation in areas such as finance, the green economy, artificial intelligence, and people-to-people exchanges.
According to the South China Morning Post report, citing Chinese readout, Starmer congratulated Xi on China’s success at the Paris Olympics and affirmed that developing a closer UK-China relationship benefits both nations.
He reiterated the UK’s commitment to the one-China policy and expressed hope for enhanced cooperation in areas like economy, trade, finance, education, clean energy, and health, as well as joint efforts on global challenges such as climate change, added the report.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsLast month, Chinese Premier Li Qiang congratulated Starmer on becoming British Prime Minister, highlighting China’s commitment to strengthening ties with the UK and expanding mutual cooperation.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is considering a visit to China, following groundwork laid by Catherine West, who visited Beijing in March to meet key Chinese officials.
Starmer’s Labour government is expected to review the UK’s China strategy within its first 100 days, though a formal “China strategy” document has not been committed to.
China is also monitoring the potential deployment of the UK’s carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific in 2025, a plan announced by former UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.
Shapps has stated that freedom of navigation, including through the Taiwan Strait, is universally recognised, though the exact route for the carrier group is still pending.
With inputs from agencies