MOSCOW, Jun 2 British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying covertly restore Britain's relations with China, reports Bloomberg.
“British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying to restore Britain's relationship with China in a way that no one sees,” the agency said.
According to the agency, some time ago, Sunak sent the Minister of Commerce to Hong Kong, and his envoy there called for resolving additional differences with Beijing behind closed doors. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley is expected to travel to China in the coming months.
The agency adds that Sunak has so far refrained from visiting China to meet with President Xi Jinping, unlike the leaders of France, Germany and Spain. The prime minister is unlikely to visit Beijing before the next UK general election in 2025, according to people familiar with the matter.
Beijing would prefer the UK to send a senior economic or trade official with a business delegation rather than a foreign secretary, Bloomberg writes, Bloomberg reports citing sources.
Earlier, the Financial Times, citing excerpts from the forthcoming speech of the Foreign Minister, reported that British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley believes that declaring a cold war on China would be a mistake. As noted, Cleverley will also say that «no significant global problem» can be solved without China. However, the newspaper writes, the minister will also touch on areas where Britain remains at odds with China, including Taiwan, civil rights in Hong Kong and the Uyghur issue.
However, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said at the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May 2023 that China represents the biggest challenge of our time to global security and prosperity.