This Friday, the new British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for the first time since taking office, reiterating that the British government will put national security first and support human rights. He also urged the Chinese government to prevent relevant companies from supporting Russia's military-industrial complex.
After the British Labour Party won the parliamentary election at the beginning of the month, the cabinet was replaced, and the new government's China policy orientation has attracted much attention. Among them, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who has been in office for less than a month, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he attended the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Vientiane, Laos on July 26. This was Lammy's first meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister since he took office.
A press release issued by the British Foreign Office described the two's first meeting as "constructive", during which Lamy outlined the current government's "long-term, consistent and strategic" approach to UK-China relations; and reiterated that the British government will cooperate with China where feasible, compete with China where necessary, and challenge China where necessary.
This is also the 3C principle of dealing with China proposed by the Labour Party at the beginning of the election, namely cooperation, competition and challenge. The British Foreign Office press release also pointed out that Lamy made it clear during the meeting that the British government will always firmly put the UK's national security first and support human rights.
As for which areas can be cooperated with China? On which issues do we need to compete or challenge? Lamy said at the meeting that he welcomes the opportunity to cooperate with China, a member of the UN Security Council and the world's second largest economy, to address global challenges such as climate change.
Lamy also stressed Britain's firm commitment to Ukraine at the meeting and urged the Chinese government to stop its companies from supporting Russia's military-industrial complex, describing it as a major threat to international security and prosperity. The two sides also agreed to work towards establishing a long-term communication channel.
Regarding the Russia-Ukraine issue, the Chinese press release only had one sentence, saying that the two sides "exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern, such as the Ukrainian crisis," but did not explain how China responded to Lamy's request. Wang Yi mentioned at the meeting that after the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, China will deepen reforms and bring more opportunities to countries such as the United Kingdom. Wang Yi stressed that China is willing to develop a stable and mutually beneficial China-UK relationship with the United Kingdom, while strengthening communication and coordination on international affairs to jointly promote world peace. He said that China will uphold a balanced, pragmatic, open and cooperative attitude to properly manage differences, and hopes that the United Kingdom will provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.