Foreign Minister Wang Yi's Visit Is Considered Positive For Increasing Chinese-English Relations

JAKARTA - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to the UK is said to provide a positive signal for improving bilateral relations between the two countries.

The visit was Wang Yi's first time in 10 years and the two countries started a new round of the first strategic dialogue in seven years.

"This shows China and Britain's willingness to follow up on common understanding among country leaders and stabilize and improve bilateral relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press conference in Beijing on Friday, February 14, reported by ANTARA.

Wang Yi visited England on February 12-13, 2025 and met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Foreign MinisterDavid Lemmy, and other top British officials.

GuoJiakun assessed that the visit increased strategic communication between the two countries.

He also said that China positively welcomed the UK government's "reasonable and pragmatic" policy towards China.

"China views Britain as an important strategic partner and ready to strengthen and expand cooperation in various fields," said Guo Jiakun.

Britain said it agreed on British-China relations that serve the interests of the two countries and committed to developing sustainable relations with China "stabilly, maturely, and strongly."

"Both parties want to be involved in an honest and constructive dialogue in the spirit of mutual respect to overcome differences and disputes appropriately," said Guo Jiakun.

During his visit, Wang Yi discussed plans to improve bilateral communication and cooperation through the implementation of the China-England Energy Dialogue, the China-England Joint Commission Meeting for Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation, as well as the China-England Education Conference.

It was also discussed efforts to accelerate the Chinese-UK Joint Trade and Economic Commission mechanism, health and industrial cooperation, financial services, clean energy, artificial intelligence, global governance, development partnerships, climate change management, and cybersecurity.

Wang Yi also explained China's position on issues about Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Middle East, and Ukraine by saying that China welcomes all peace talks, including those carried out by European countries.

In January, British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and Chinese Deputy PM He Lifeng agreed to restart the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue with an agreement of 600 million pounds sterling (around Rp. 12.2 trillion).

China also plans to issue green bonds in London this year to fund environmentally friendly projects.

Relations between the two countries have been strained since 2018 when Britain criticized Beijing's actions in the Uygur autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Hong Kong, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the establishment of the AUKUS security pact by Australia, Britain, and the US.

In 2023, UK investment in China fell 20.9 percent to 8.8 billion pounds (approximately IDR 179.2 trillion), while Chinese investment in the UK slightly fell 1.6 percent to 4.2 billion pounds.