On September 24, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming held an on-line meeting with Mayor of Greater Manchester (GM) Andy Burnham. Consul General of China to Manchester Zheng Xiyuan and Executive Director of the Manchester China Forum Rhys Whalley were present.

Ambassador Liu said, China attaches great importance to the relationship with GM and the friendly cooperation between China and GM has been moving forward smoothly in recent years. He expressed the hope that both sides would take full advantage of the sister-city platform, dovetail development strategies, deepen cooperation in trade, investment, climate change, green development, and other fields, tap the potential for cooperation in digital economy, AI, and other emerging businesses, and intensify people-to-people, educational, tourism cultural exchanges. He thanked Mayor Burnham for going to local Chinatown to root for the overseas Chinese community when China was fighting a critical battle against the epidemic. Ambassador Liu said that China is ready to provide support for the UK in fighting the pandemic to the best of its capability, and hoped that the GM government will continue to protect the safety, legitimate rights, and interests of local Chinese nationals, especially Chinese students.

He also gave an update on President Xi Jinping's recent remarks at the General Debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, pointing out that both China and the UK are major countries with global influence, and that a healthy and steady development of China-UK relationship will not only serve the fundamental interests of both countries but also contribute to world peace and development.

Mayor Burnham said, GM, as a long-term friend of China, is willing to continue to strengthen friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation with provinces and cities in China. Hailing China's accomplishment in containing COVID-19, he expressed his appreciation for China's support in providing PPE supplies for GM and hoped to deepen collaboration with China in the fight against the virus. Mayor Burnham was convinced that the aspiring goal of China to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 announced by President Xi Jinping at the recent United Nations General Assembly would create important opportunities for GM to carry out cooperation with China on climate change, green energy and clean transportation. He believed that China is a anchor of stability in the international community, and the development of UK-China relationship meets the common interests of both sides.