North Korea sanctions and climate change also up for discussion in Beijing as Hunt meets Wang Yi
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will meet his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Monday to discuss cooperation between the two countries on his first major overseas trip since he replaced Boris Johnson earlier this month.
Hunt and Wang Yi, China’s minister of foreign affairs, were expected to discuss free trade, enforcing sanctions on North Korea and how Britain and China could work together on global challenges such as climate change, Britain’s Foreign Office said.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Hunt said that as Britain left the European Union it was committed to deepening its partnership with China.
“The United Kingdom and China are both major powers with a global perspective,” Hunt said in a statement. “As the UK leaves the EU and becomes ever-more outward-looking, we are committed to deepening this vital partnership for the 21st century.
“The UK-China Strategic Dialogue is an important opportunity to intensify our cooperation on shared challenges in international affairs, ranging from global free trade to non-proliferation and environmental challenges, under the UK-China Global Partnership and ‘Golden Era’ for UK-China relations.