David Lammy promises 'pragmatic' cooperation and raises human rights concerns on visit to China

18 October 2024, 20:57

Britain and China struck a reconciliatory tone as David Lammy met with his counterpart in Beijing on Friday.

The British Foreign Secretary had faced calls to take a tough line on a number of human rights concerns when he met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in a rare meeting between the two nations.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the Foreign Office described the encounter as "constructive", noting Mr Lammy raised "a number of foreign policy and security matters" including Chinese companies supplying equipment to the Russian military and the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

The statement noted that human rights “were discussed”, including the ongoing imprisonment of British national and media mogul Jimmy Lai as well as the treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang.

Writing on X, Mr Lammy said: "The UK will pragmatically engage with China where there are clear UK and global interests.

"That’s why I visited Beijing. I’ve had candid discussions across areas of disagreement as well as shared interests."

"China-Britain relations ... now stand at a new starting point," Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said during the meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

"Competition among major powers should not be the backdrop of this era."

Lammy’s statement, however did not mention Taiwan, centre of much geo-political tension in recent years.

Speaking before travelling to China, Mr Lammy had said it was important to speak "candidly" about "both areas of contention as well as areas for cooperation in the UK's national interest".

But the Government has distanced itself from comments Mr Lammy made while in opposition in which he suggested actions against the mainly Muslim Uighur group should be declared a genocide.

During his visit to Beijing, Mr Lammy also met with Ding Xuexiang, the most senior of China's vice-premiers and a close associate of President Xi Jinping.

Mr Lammy is now expected to travel to Shanghai to hold talks with British businesses on economic links between the UK and China.