UK foreign secretary reportedly plans to visit China, as businesses keen on cooperation

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is reportedly considering a visit to China, as part of the new Labour government's efforts to recalibrate UK's relationship with China, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. 

While neither country has yet publicly confirmed the report, such a trip could help both sides enhance communication to address their differences and pave the way for pragmatic, win-win cooperation, Chinese experts said on Wednesday. In particular, there is huge potential for the two countries to boost economic and trade cooperation, as many UK businesses are keen on expanding in the Chinese market, experts noted. 

According to the report on Tuesday, plans for the trip have not yet been finalized and no date has been set. However, if it takes place, the trip would be only the second by a UK foreign secretary in the past six years. Before becoming UK's prime minister a month ago, Keir Starmer said that his government would carry out what he described as an "audit" of UK-China ties as "one of the first things that we will do," Bloomberg reported. 

Speaking at a regular press conference on Wednesday, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that she had no information to share about the trip at the moment, and referred to a recent meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

"We are positive and open towards enhancing bilateral exchanges and cooperation," Mao said, "We hope to work with the UK on the basis of mutual respect and win-win cooperation for new progress in bilateral relations, so as to bring more benefits to both countries and the world." 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Lammy on July 26 on the sidelines of the meetings of foreign ministers of southeastern and eastern Asian countries in Vientiane, Laos where the two sides agreed to work together for closer communication and stable relations, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Notably, Wang called on the two sides to properly manage their differences and carry out communication and exchanges on the basis of equality and mutual respect, while urging the UK to provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.

Experts said that if Lammy's trip indeed takes place, it would provide good opportunities for the two sides to further strengthen communication to address their differences and promote mutually beneficial cooperation, as bilateral ties have been seriously undermined by recent UK governments' hostility toward China. 

Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of European Studies, said that previous UK governments have taken a short-sighted and ideology-based approach toward China, which has seriously damaged bilateral ties. 

"The bilateral relationship has been very tense, as the UK has adopted a very unfriendly attitude toward China," Zhao told the Global Times on Wednesday.

In addition to hostility on the political side, the UK has also adopted a protectionist stance against Chinese businesses and products. Among the major hostile moves, the UK in 2022 moved to oust China General Nuclear from a nuclear power plant with a huge payout. It also banned Chinese telecom giant Huawei from its 5G network following the pressure from the US, despite a massive cost in doing so.

While it remains to be seen whether the new UK government will maintain such a hostile attitude toward China, there remains huge potential for pragmatic, win-win cooperation, experts said. 

Zhao said that the UK faces a chaotic economic situation, and it has been falling far behind in its green and digital transitions. If the new UK government tries to address these challenges, "it must engage with China," Zhao said, noting that China and the UK can cooperate in a wide range of areas, including green development, the digital sector and climate change. 

During the meeting with Wang in July, Lammy said that the UK side looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in areas including culture, education, healthcare, technology innovation and climate change, according to Xinhua. 

Many UK businesses are keen on expanding in the Chinese market, as China continues to further open up its market to foreign businesses in a wide range of areas, including manufacturing and financial services. 

On August 1, Standard Chartered Bank (China) formally opened a private wealth management branch in Beijing's downtown that will provide multidimensional services for China's high-net-worth families, a move underscoring the UK multinational bank's firm confidence in the China market.

Standard Chartered Bank is optimistic about the prospects of China's wealth management market and is making the business one of the company's operational strategies in China, the bank said in a press release sent to the Global Times.

However, for bilateral economic and trade cooperation to improve and expand, the UK side must change its hostile stance and adopt a more pragmatic approach toward China, experts said. 

"The hope is that the new UK government will adopt a more pragmatic and cooperative attitude toward China," Zhao said. "It is hoped that it will view the current situation clearly and be more candid in talks with China."