London wants a practical rapport with China but will continue to stay “clear-eyed” about places of disagreement, British Foreign Secretary James cunningly said in Beijing on Wednesday on a visit not appreciated by some in the governing Conservative Party. Mr Cleverly is the first senior British minister in five years to visit China, a trip that he hopes will re-establish companionship between the two nations after years of worries over safety, investment and human rights problems.
The foreign secretary has said it would be a blunder to isolate the world’s second-hugest economy or handle climate transformation without its input, but some Conservative lawmakers say the trip appears like an expression of British weakness.”We have a crystal clear idea about the regions where we have fundamental disagreements with China and we brought up those problems when we meet,” he told broadcasters. “But I think it’s prominent to also acknowledge that we have to have a practical, sensible working rapport with China because of the problems that impact us all around the globe.
” China Vice-President Han Zheng told Mr Cleverly at their meeting that he aimed the two nations could take fresh steps in their rapports. Mr Cleverly will have a meeting with his counterpart Wang Yi later. The British government is stressed from several lawmakers, involving the previous Prime Minister Liz Truss, who wish London to make strict its rule on China and to announce the nation a peril to British national safety. Mr Cleverly’s going to China comes as other nations in the West also try to upgrade their rapports with the nation.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly (left) and China Vice-President Han Zheng during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on Aug 30. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is on a four-day visit to China but warned that US companies have spoke against to her that China has become “uninvestable”. After his meeting with Mr Han, Mr Cleverly said it was essential the two governments went on with ordinary face-to-face meetings to not let misunderstandings happen. “Diplomacy has a lot of part to play to make a difference,” he said.