UK's Lammy visits China in bid to reset ties

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will visit China this week, Beijing and Downing Street said on Thursday, marking the first by a senior UK official since the election of Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July.

Beijing's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that Lammy "will pay an official visit to China from October 18 to 19".

Confirming the visit, a Downing Street spokesperson said Lammy will "challenge" China and seek "necessary pragmatic engagement".

The two sides would "have in-depth exchanges on implementing the consensus reached by their leaders" during an August phone call, Mao said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

"China and the UK are both permanent members of the UN Security Council and major world economies," Mao said.

"The long-term stable development of bilateral relations accords with the common interests of both countries," she added.

Beijing hoped to "boost strategic mutual trust and strengthen dialogue and cooperation in all fields", Mao told reporters.

"China is willing to work with the UK to uphold our position as partners, maintain openness and cooperation... and push for the sound and steady development of China-UK relations," she said.

"We will challenge China where we need to and we will seek to have a consistent and long-term, strategic approach to managing the UK's position (on) China," said the Downing Street spokesperson.

In 2015, Britain's then-prime minister David Cameron hailed a "Golden Age" of ties between London and Beijing, but relations have deteriorated significantly in recent years.

Lammy's Conservative party predecessor in the post, James Cleverly, visited China in August 2023 and held meetings with top officials where he said he raised human rights issues.