Wang Yi sends free trade message at revived UK-China Strategic Dialogue

Ministerial talks brought back to life in London as Starmer’s government pursues a more pragmatic China policy

Reading Time:2 minutes

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and David Lammy, pictured in Beijing in October, met in London for the first UK-China Strategic Dialogue since 2018. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 10:00pm, 13 Feb 2025Updated: 12:16pm, 14 Feb 2025

In his first trip to Britain in a decade, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi renewed his country’s support for free trade and multilateralism in the face of global challenges.

Wang issued the call in London at the start of the first UK-China Strategic Dialogue to be held since 2018.

He said the willingness of China and Britain to strengthen dialogue would help the two nations to improve communication on strategic issues and planning for more “high-level exchanges” in the year.

“International cooperation and great power cooperation have become more urgent and important,” said Wang, whose delegation included foreign vice-minister Hua Chunying and Chinese ambassador to Britain Zheng Zeguang.

“It is more important than before for China and the UK 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.”

In his opening remarks, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he looked forward to discussion on a broad range of issues including economic cooperation and national security issues, as well as areas on which the two nations “do not always see eye to eye, and in some cases the UK does have significant concerns”.

Ties between Britain and China have been strained in recent years over a range of issues, from China’s alleged support of Russia during the Ukraine war to human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.