British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Saturday that companies want “stability and clarity” in trade with China, as London, under a new Labor government, seeks to reset relations with Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said after a meeting with Lammy on Friday that bilateral ties “now stand at a new starting point,” adding that “competition among great powers should not be the framework of this era.”
Lammy arrived in Shanghai on Saturday as part of a two-day visit to China that began with a visit to Beijing. In Shanghai, Lammy meets with British business leaders to discuss trade links with China.
Britain has made great strides in its approach to China over the past decade, from declaring it wants to be China’s biggest supporter in Europe to being one of its fiercest critics, and now trying to improve relations.
”I spoke with representatives of the British industry, and it is important to remember that 95 percent of that business is not in fields related to national security,” said Lammy in an interview.
Of course, there are areas of national security interest and we will always put those first, but what people also want is consistency – what business wants is stability and clarity, Lammy said.
Britain’s relations with China under the previous government were strained by conflicts over human rights, Hong Kong and allegations of Chinese espionage.
The Labor administration has commissioned a government-wide review of the United Kingdom (UK)-China relations and has said it will be “clear” when it comes to China, given allegations of Chinese cyber-hacking as well as espionage on British soil.
Lammy said that during the talks in Beijing with Wang on Friday, “he was able to have a dialogue with the Chinese about the areas where we disagree.”
He said he discussed “Hong Kong, areas like Taiwan, areas like human rights in Xinjiang, we were able to have those conversations and raise difficult, challenging issues.“
