On 18 November, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming met with Jenny Bates, new Director General of Indo-Pacific at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and exchanged views with her on China-UK relationship.

Ambassador Liu began by congratulating Director General Bates on her new position, saying that China and the UK, as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and key members of international organizations such as G20, are major countries with significant international influence. A good China-UK relationship not only serves the common interests of the two countries, but also benefits world peace and development.

In recent years, China and the UK have enhanced exchange and dialogue mechanisms, joint response towards the COVID-19 pandemic, in-depth cooperation on investment and trade, and coordination on international affairs, especially communication and cooperation on COP15 and COP26 to be held next year. Ambassador Liu hoped that the two countries would handle differences appropriately and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and equality, so as to ensure the steady and enduring development of China-UK relationship.

Director General Bates noted that she has visited China on multiple occasions and been a part of UK-China cooperation on financial servicees. She said, the UK stands ready to develop a positive and constructive relationship with China and highly appreciates President Xi Jinping’s announcement on carbon emission reduction at the United Nations General Assembly, which has played a good exemplary and leading role in the international arena. The UK looks forward to continuing to strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as trade and climate change, and jointly making COP15 and COP26 successful, so as to promote the continuous development of UK-China relationship.