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British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in London on Thursday. AFP called this a new sign of the thawing of relations between London and Beijing since the British Labour Party came to power. It is shown that several topics will be involved in the talks between Wang Yi and Lamy, which may also include the relocation and construction of a new building for the Chinese Embassy in London.
“I hope that through this dialogue we can make concrete progress in areas where the leaders of the two countries have reached consensus,” Wang Yi said during the meeting at the British Foreign Office residence.
The Labour government, elected in July, is trying to improve relations between London and Beijing, which have been strained under recent Conservative governments. The dispute was sparked by London’s criticism of Beijing over restrictions on freedoms in Hong Kong, its treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang, and a series of mutual accusations of espionage.
In November 2024, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Brazil, the first meeting between the two leaders since 2018. Tensions have since eased further.
British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves visited China in January to seek new investment.
David Lammy, who also visited Beijing in October last year, said today on Thursday it was important for Britain and China to have a “firm but constructive dialogue”.
The British government said it would continue to raise concerns about China’s human rights record with Beijing.
According to the report, the meeting comes as the British government is about to make a decision on the controversial plan to relocate the Chinese embassy to a historic site in central London.
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