Top diplomats of Britain and China hold talks as part of efforts to rebuild ties

LONDON (AP) — The foreign ministers of Britain and China held talks in London on Thursday, reviving a formal dialogue between the two countries after almost seven years.

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said “robust and constructive” discussions with Foreign Minister Wang Yi would include economic relations and issues where the U.K. and China “do not always see eye to eye.”

The meeting came as the U.K.’s center-left Labour Party government cautiously tries to reset ties with Beijing. Relations turned frosty in recent years over spying allegations, human rights concerns, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and a crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony.

Wang also met U.K. National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer briefly dropped in on a meeting — a sign of its significance to the British side.

Starmer’s office said the prime minister “underlined his intention to build a consistent and respectful relationship between the U.K. and China,” but also “reiterated that the U.K. will always engage frankly” — an indication that he raised human rights concerns.

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Lammy, Britain’s top diplomat, visited China in October, and Treasury chief Rachel Reeves travelled to Beijing in January to reopen economic and financial talks with the Asian superpower, which the U.K. sees as major source of potential investment.

Thursday’s discussions were part of the U.K.-China Strategic Dialogue, last held in 2018. Lammy said at the start of the meeting that discussions would include “areas of bilateral economic cooperation,” as well as security issues such as the war in Ukraine.

“We will also discuss issues where the U.K. and China do not always see eye to eye, and in some cases, the U.K. does have significant concerns,” Lammy said.

Lammy added that “it is important that we use channels such as this for robust but constructive discussion, as we are both members of the U.N. Security Council and we’ll be better able to understand each other, and each other’s perspectives.”

Wang said cooperation between nations was increasingly urgent in an ever-more-volatile world.

“Under the current situation, it is more important than before for China and the U.K. to demonstrate their responsibilities as major countries, practice multilateralism, support free trade, advocate win-win cooperation, and promote political solutions to hotspot issues, so we can jointly work for the peace and stability of the world,” he said through an interpreter.