Will engage with China on matters of global interest: UK foreign secretary

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Saturday said that the UK would engage with China only when there are interests of the UK or global interests involved.

Lammy said in his Beijing visit, he held discussions in areas of disagreements as well as shared interests.

In a post on X, he said, "The UK will pragmatically engage with China where there are clear UK and global interests. That's why I visited Beijing. I've had candid discussions across areas of disagreement as well as shared interests."

Foreign Secretary David Lammy met Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi, in Beijing on Friday, an official statement said.

The Foreign Secretary set out that as fellow Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, it is a necessity that the UK and China increase bilateral engagement. He made clear that, as global players, both countries have an obligation to work together to find pragmatic solutions to complex challenges, the statement said.

Areas of pragmatic, mutually beneficial cooperation were clear. This included working together on achieving the global green transition; making greater efforts on development and global health; and the safe use of AI. The Foreign Secretary reiterated his commitment to promoting secure and resilient growth through increased trade and investment which creates jobs, drives innovation, boosts productivity and provides economic stability and certainty for the UK economy. They agreed that the UK and China can support both countries' growth objectives, with China as the world's second-largest economy and the UK's 4th largest trading partner, as per the statement.

The Foreign Secretary also raised a number of foreign policy and security matters, including Russia's war in Ukraine, where he stated how both the UK and China have a shared interest in European peace and ending the war. He reaffirmed that concerns over China's supply of equipment to Russia's military industrial complex risks damaging China's relationships with Europe whilst helping to sustain Russia's war. The Foreign Secretary urged Wang Yi to take all measures to investigate and to prevent Chinese companies from supplying Russia's military. The Foreign Ministers agreed to continue to discuss this and other broader foreign policy issues, such as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Human Rights were discussed, including in Xinjiang, and the Foreign Secretary referenced this as an area which the UK and China must engage, even where viewpoints diverge. Hong Kong is a shared interest, and the Foreign Secretary raised serious concerns around the implementation of the National Security Law and the ongoing treatment of British national Jimmy Lai, again calling for his release, the statement said.

The meeting was constructive across the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, from areas of pragmatic cooperation to issues of contention. Both the Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister agreed that maintaining channels of communication was essential and committed to holding regular discussions across their respective governments at Ministerial level, the statement added.