British Foreign Secretary Lammy to visit China in bid to reset ties

9/10/2024 17:51

        Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy will visit China next week, sources familiar with the plan said, as the new Labour government seeks less confrontational ties with the world's second-largest economy and to resume trade and investment talks.
        
        British officials have said they want to recalibrate many of the previous Conservative Party-led government's positions on China, which it described as an "epoch-defining challenge," particularly around accepting Chinese job-creating investment.
        
        But Britain is unlikely to budge on issues such as Chinese firms' involvement in providing key infrastructure, human rights and restoring the licence of state broadcaster CGTN, as it is controlled by China's ruling Communist Party.
        
        Lammy, who has vowed to overhaul Britain's ties with China, will meet Chinese officials in Beijing and representatives of British firms in Shanghai.