China, Britain make tentative steps to repair ties

[August 30, 2023]  By Laurie Chen

BEIJING (Reuters) -China and Britain made tentative steps to repair relations on Wednesday, with Beijing promising better ties if both showed "mutual respect" and London wanting to keep lines of communication open, including between the countries' leaders.

Foreign minister James Cleverly is the first senior British minister in five years to visit China, a trip that he hopes will reset ties between the two countries after years of tension over security, investment and human rights concerns.

The foreign secretary has argued it would be a mistake to isolate the world's second-largest economy or tackle climate change without its input, but some Conservative lawmakers say the trip looks like an expression of British weakness.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed Cleverly and said both countries should move forward, rather than retreating, particularly in working together to boost the global economy.

"I believe that as long as both sides adhere to mutual respect, equal treatment, view each other's development objectively, and enhance mutual understanding and trust, Sino-British relations will be able to eliminate all unnecessary interference and obstacles," Wang said during the meeting's opening remarks in front of reporters.

Cleverly responded by saying he appreciated having the ability to raise points of disagreement, telling Wang he appreciated him listening to them "carefully and professionally", but he also wanted to raise opportunities.

"It is important for us to maintain these channels of communication at our level as minister-to-minister, ministers in upper government departments," he said. "And, of course ultimately, it is important for our prime minister and your president to have the opportunity to speak directly as well."

A possible meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could come at the G20 summit in India next month, but a spokesperson for Sunak said his team was still in the process of arranging meetings.

Earlier, Vice President Han Zheng told Cleverly he hoped the two countries could make new advances in their relations.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands before a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool

The visit comes when the British government is under pressure from lawmakers, including the former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who want London to toughen its policy on China and to declare the country a threat to British national security.

One Conservative, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear what the benefit of the trip was. "We should be robust towards China, but this looks the opposite," the lawmaker said.

CHINA STRATEGY 'HIDDEN'

The head of parliament's foreign affairs committee, Conservative Alicia Kearns, said she feared ministers had no coherent strategy on Beijing after her committee released a report critical of the government's China policy.

She said the strategy was buried, "kept hidden even from senior ministers across government", she said. "How can those implementing policy - and making laws - do so without an understanding of the overall strategy?"

The committee also referred to Taiwan as an "independent country" in a break with the British government's position. Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and strongly objects to perceived foreign interference with the island.

Britain's government does not recognise Taiwan and has no formal diplomatic relations with the island, but it maintains economic and trade ties and there is a de facto British embassy in Taipei.

Cleverly's visit to China comes as other countries in the West also try to improve their relations with the country.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is on a four-day visit in China but warned that U.S. companies have complained to her that China has become "uninvestible".

(Reporting by Laurie Chen in Beijing and Sarah Young in London; writing by Elizabeth Piper and Kate Holton; Editing by Conor Humphries)

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