'No significant global problem can be solved without China': UK foreign secretary

LONDON

“No significant global problem can be solved without China,” the British foreign secretary reiterated on Tuesday, a day before his China visit.

James Cleverly, who will be the first British foreign secretary to visit China in five years, said it is important to manage the UK’s relationship with China.

The visit to Beijing is “to strengthen channels of communication to further and protect British interests,” according to a statement from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

“No significant global problem – from climate change to pandemic prevention, from economic instability to nuclear proliferation – can be solved without China,” Cleverly said.

He added: “China’s size, history, and global significance means they cannot be ignored, but that comes with a responsibility on the global stage. That responsibility means China fulfilling its international commitments and obligations.”

In his Mansion House speech in April, Cleverly had set out the UK’s “multifaceted approach to China across three pillars,” which are “to protect national security whenever Beijing poses a threat to UK people or prosperity, to align cooperation with friends and allies in the Indo-Pacific and across the world to uphold international law, and to engage directly with China to promote stable relations.”

Cleverly will hold bilateral meetings with China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi, and Vice President Han Zheng, according to the statement.

It also said: “Issues such as climate change cannot be tackled without China – as the world’s largest investor in sustainable energy and the largest emitter of carbon, the choices that China makes are critical to our collective ability to tackle this global problem.”

Cleverly is also expected to underline China’s responsibility for international security to provide assistance to end the war in Ukraine, diffuse tensions in the South China Sea, and cease malign activity in cyberspace.

“During his visit, the foreign secretary will raise Beijing’s human rights obligations, including in relation to communities in Xinjiang and Tibet. He will also challenge China on the erosion of autonomy, rights, and freedoms in Hong Kong under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law, as well as other UK interests including the sanctions placed on UK MPs.”

The statement also said that it is “important to have discussions face to face and raise these issues directly with the center of the Chinese system, making clear the UK’s position with the decision makers in Beijing.”

“This approach is in line with that of international partners, such as the recent visits of Five Eyes and European partners.”