UK's Starmer and China's Xi Engage in Diplomatic Dialogue, Emphasizing Cooperation and Honest Discussions

UK PM Tells China's Xi He Hopes For 'Honest' Discussions

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday he hoped they could have "honest" discussions about thorny issues as they held the first call between leaders of the countries in over two years. The formal conversation was the first between the pair since Starmer won power last month, and was also the first official call between a British leader and Xi since March 2022. The chat comes amid a period of strained relations between London and Beijing over espionage allegations and Beijing's tightening control over former British colony Hong Kong. The two remain major trading partners, however, and are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. According to a Downing Street readout of the call, Starmer noted hope that he and Xi "would be able to have open, frank and honest discussions to address and understand areas of disagreement when necessary". Such issues include "Hong Kong, Russia's war in Ukraine and human rights," the readout said. China was Britain's fifth-largest trading partner as of 2023, according to UK statistics, but diplomatic relations were icy under Starmer's predecessor Rishi Sunak. Soon after taking office in October 2022, Sunak declared an end to the so-called "golden era" of UK-China relations trumpeted by former prime minister David Cameron. Sunak characterised China as a "systemic challenge" to UK values. Espionage allegations have since presented additional hurdles to repairing relations, with Beijing saying in June that MI6 recruited Chinese state employees to spy for the UK. That came after British police in April charged two men under the UK's counter-espionage Official Secrets Act, accusing them of spying for China. Xi emphasised to Starmer that China aimed to "make mutual benefits and common wins the fundamental tone of China-UK relations", according to state broadcaster CCTV's report of the phone call. His comments also appeared to call for resetting the relationship. "China is willing to conduct equal dialogue with the UK side on the basis of mutual respect... (and) expand cooperation in the fields of finance, green economy, artificial intelligence, etc," Xi was quoted as saying. Xi also congratulated Starmer on becoming prime minister following his Labour party's thumping general election win over the Conservatives on July 4, CCTV said. Chinese Premier Li Qiang was the first senior leader from the country to publicly congratulate Starmer, two days after the Labour leader entered office. Friday's phone call -- which CCTV said came at Starmer's invitation -- is the first to be reported between top Chinese and British leaders since Xi spoke with former prime minister Boris Johnson on March 25, 2022. Xi told Starmer that "China attaches great importance to the UK side's wish to strengthen contact and dialogue", CCTV said. He added that China is "willing to maintain exchanges with the United Kingdom at all levels, promote the steady and long-term development of China-UK relations, and work together to promote world peace and development". The Downing Street readout said the leaders discussed "potential areas of cooperation... including on trade, the economy and education" and "agreed on the importance of close working in areas, such as climate change and global security". The statement added they also agreed "on the need for a stable and consistent UK-China relationship, including dialogue between their respective foreign and domestic ministers". The Guardian newspaper reported earlier this month that Britain's top diplomat, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, is planning to visit China in September.

UK PM tells China's Xi he hopes for "honest" discussions

(Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday he hoped they could have "honest" discussions about thorny issues as they held the first call between leaders of the countries in over two years. The formal conversation was the first between the pair since Starmer won power last month, and was also the first official call between a British leader and Xi since March 2022. The chat comes amid a period of strained relations between London and Beijing over espionage allegations and Beijing's tightening control over former British colony Hong Kong. The two remain major trading partners, however, and are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. According to a Downing Street readout of the call, Starmer noted hope that he and Xi "would be able to have open, frank and honest discussions to address and understand areas of disagreement when necessary". Such issues include "Hong Kong, Russia's war in Ukraine and human rights," the readout said. China was the UK's fifth-largest trading partner as of 2023, according to UK statistics, but diplomatic relations were icy under Starmer's predecessor Rishi Sunak. Soon after taking office in October 2022, Sunak declared an end to the so-called "golden era" of UK-China relations trumpeted by former prime minister David Cameron. Sunak characterised China as a "systemic challenge" to UK values. Espionage allegations have since presented additional hurdles to repairing relations, with Beijing saying in June that MI6 recruited Chinese state employees to spy for the UK. That came after British police in April charged two men under the UK's counter-espionage Official Secrets Act, accusing them of spying for China. Xi emphasised to Starmer that China aimed to "make mutual benefits and common wins the fundamental tone of China-UK relations", according to state broadcaster CCTV's report of the phone call. His comments also appeared to call for resetting the relationship. "China is willing to conduct equal dialogue with the UK side on the basis of mutual respect... (and) expand cooperation in the fields of finance, green economy, artificial intelligence, etc," Xi was quoted as saying. Xi also congratulated Starmer on becoming prime minister following his Labour party's thumping general election win over the Conservatives on July 4, CCTV said. Chinese Premier Li Qiang was the first senior leader from the country to publicly congratulate Starmer, two days after the Labour leader entered office. Friday's phone call - which CCTV said came at Starmer's invitation - is the first to be reported between top Chinese and British leaders since Xi spoke with former prime minister Boris Johnson on March 25, 2022. Xi told Starmer that "China attaches great importance to the UK side's wish to strengthen contact and dialogue", CCTV said. He added that China is "willing to maintain exchanges with the UK at all levels, promote the steady and long-term development of China-UK relations, and work together to promote world peace and development". The Downing Street readout said the leaders discussed "potential areas of cooperation... including on trade, the economy and education" and "agreed on the importance of close working in areas, such as climate change and global security". The statement added they also agreed "on the need for a stable and consistent UK-China relationship, including dialogue between their respective foreign and domestic ministers". The Guardian newspaper reported earlier this month that Britain's top diplomat, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, is planning to visit China in September. Peter Hutchison with Peter Catterall in Beijing Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

UK PM tells China's Xi he hopes for 'honest' discussions

London (AFP) - UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday he hoped they could have "honest" discussions about thorny issues as they held the first call between leaders of the countries in over two years. The formal conversation was the first between the pair since Starmer won power last month, and was also the first official call between a British leader and Xi since March 2022. The chat comes amid a period of strained relations between London and Beijing over espionage allegations and Beijing's tightening control over former British colony Hong Kong. The two remain major trading partners, however, and are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. According to a Downing Street readout of the call, Starmer noted hope that he and Xi "would be able to have open, frank and honest discussions to address and understand areas of disagreement when necessary". Such issues include "Hong Kong, Russia's war in Ukraine and human rights," the readout said. China was Britain's fifth-largest trading partner as of 2023, according to UK statistics, but diplomatic relations were icy under Starmer's predecessor Rishi Sunak. Soon after taking office in October 2022, Sunak declared an end to the so-called "golden era" of UK-China relations trumpeted by former prime minister David Cameron. Sunak characterised China as a "systemic challenge" to UK values. Espionage allegations have since presented additional hurdles to repairing relations, with Beijing saying in June that MI6 recruited Chinese state employees to spy for the UK. That came after British police in April charged two men under the UK's counter-espionage Official Secrets Act, accusing them of spying for China. Xi emphasised to Starmer that China aimed to "make mutual benefits and common wins the fundamental tone of China-UK relations", according to state broadcaster CCTV's report of the phone call. His comments also appeared to call for resetting the relationship. "China is willing to conduct equal dialogue with the UK side on the basis of mutual respect... (and) expand cooperation in the fields of finance, green economy, artificial intelligence, etc," Xi was quoted as saying. Xi also congratulated Starmer on becoming prime minister following his Labour party's thumping general election win over the Conservatives on July 4, CCTV said. Chinese Premier Li Qiang was the first senior leader from the country to publicly congratulate Starmer, two days after the Labour leader entered office. Friday's phone call -- which CCTV said came at Starmer's invitation -- is the first to be reported between top Chinese and British leaders since Xi spoke with former prime minister Boris Johnson on March 25, 2022. 'Consistent' relationship Xi told Starmer that "China attaches great importance to the UK side's wish to strengthen contact and dialogue", CCTV said. He added that China is "willing to maintain exchanges with the United Kingdom at all levels, promote the steady and long-term development of China-UK relations, and work together to promote world peace and development". The Downing Street readout said the leaders discussed "potential areas of cooperation... including on trade, the economy and education" and "agreed on the importance of close working in areas, such as climate change and global security". The statement added they also agreed "on the need for a stable and consistent UK-China relationship, including dialogue between their respective foreign and domestic ministers". The Guardian newspaper reported earlier this month that Britain's top diplomat, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, is planning to visit China in September.

China and UK must be able to talk frankly and cooperate, Starmer tells Xi

Starmer's office said the two leaders had discussed areas of collaboration including trade, the economy and education, and agreed that as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council they should work closely on global security and climate change. "The prime minister added that he hoped the leaders would be able to have open, frank and honest discussions to address and understand areas of disagreement when necessary, such as Hong Kong, Russia's war in Ukraine and human rights," a statement issued by Starmer's office said. Chinese state media said the call had been requested by Britain, and that Xi and Starmer had discussed stepping up cooperation in finance, the green economy and artificial intelligence. Xinhua said Xi had congratulated Starmer on his Labour Party's election victory in July. Starmer's government has said it plans an audit of Britain's relationship with China to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities Beijing poses. Ties between Britain and China have in recent years been strained over Hong Kong, British accusations of rights abuses, and concerns about Chinese firms' involvement in providing critical infrastructure. In 2022, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a Conservative, declared the end of a "golden era" of relations with China that one of his predecessors, David Cameron, had championed. Xinhua quoted Xi as saying China was ready to engage "dialogue on an equal footing, on the basis of mutual respect... (to) enhance understanding and mutual trust." (Reporting by Joe Cash in Beijing and William James in London, Editing by Christina Fincher, Andrew Heavens and Timothy Heritage)

China's Xi seeks "common wins" in first talk with UK's Starmer

(Alliance News) - Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday he hoped to achieve "common wins" with the UK in his first conversation with new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, state broadcaster CCTV reported. China was Britain's fifth-largest trading partner as of 2023, according to official UK statistics, but diplomatic relations have been icy in recent years as the countries sparred over Beijing's tightening control over former British colony Hong Kong. During a phone call between the two leaders on Friday afternoon, Xi congratulated Starmer on assuming the prime minister's role last month, CCTV said. "China is willing to conduct equal dialogue with the UK side on the basis of mutual respect... (and) expand cooperation in the fields of finance, green economy, artificial intelligence, etc.," Xi was quoted as saying. The Chinese president added that he aimed to "make mutual benefits and common wins the fundamental tone of China-UK relations", CCTV said. Chinese Premier Li Qiang on July 7 was the first senior leader from the country to publicly congratulate Starmer on becoming prime minister two days before. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Chinese President Xi seeks 'common wins' in first talk with UK's Starmer

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday he hoped to achieve "common wins" with the United Kingdom in his first conversation with new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, state broadcaster CCTV reported. China was Britain's fifth-largest trading partner as of 2023, according to official UK statistics, but diplomatic relations have been icy in recent years as the countries sparred over Beijing's tightening control over former British colony Hong Kong. During a phone call between the two leaders on Friday afternoon, Xi congratulated Starmer on assuming the prime minister's role last month, CCTV said. "China is willing to conduct equal dialogue with the UK side on the basis of mutual respect and expand cooperation in the fields of finance, green economy, artificial intelligence, etc.," Xi was quoted as saying. The Chinese president added that he aimed to "make mutual benefits and common wins the fundamental tone of China-UK relations", CCTV said. Chinese Premier Li Qiang on July 7 was the first senior leader from the country to publicly congratulate Starmer on becoming prime minister two days before.

Xi Jinping talks AI cooperation in call with Britain's Starmer

"China's President Xi Jinping discussed stepping up cooperation with Britain in finance, the green economy and artificial intelligence in a phone call with Britain Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday (August 23, 2024)," Chinese state media said. The Chinese leader also congratulated Mr. Starmer on his Labour Party's July election win in the call that China said had been requested by Britain, the Xinhua news agency reported. There was no immediate confirmation or broader comment from London. Mr. Starmer's government said in June it will carry out an audit of Britain's relationship with China to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities Beijing poses. The two countries' ties came under considerable strain over the course of Britain's previous Conservative Government, over Hong Kong, British accusations of rights abuses, and concerns about Chinese firms' involvement in providing critical infrastructure. In 2022, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared the end of a so-called "golden era" of relations that one of his predecessors, David Cameron, had championed. Mr. Xi told Starmer he hoped "the British side will look at China objectively and rationally", Xinhua said. Mr. Xi added that "China is ready to engage the United Kingdom in dialogue on an equal footing, on the basis of mutual respect... (to) enhance understanding and mutual trust," Xinhua reported. The Chinese leader added that he saw scope to "expand cooperation in finance, the green economy and artificial intelligence," the report added. Read Comments