Exclusive-British Foreign Secretary Lammy to visit China in bid to reset ties, sources say

By Joe Cash and Laurie Chen

BEIJING (Reuters) – Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy will visit China next week, sources familiar with the plan said, as the new Labour government seeks to reset ties strained by Hong Kong and British accusations of rights abuses and spying.

British officials have said the new government is intent on undoing what it sees as predecessors’ mistakes in adopting positions viewed as too confrontational toward Beijing, while also making clear there are areas of fundamental disagreement.

Lammy, who has vowed to overhaul Britain’s ties with China, will meet Chinese officials in Beijing and representatives of British firms in Shanghai, two of the four sources, who all spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

His itinerary has not yet been finalised, however, another person familiar with the planning said.

There was no immediate response to requests for comment from both Britain’s Foreign Office and China’s foreign ministry.

During a telephone call in August, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who took office the previous month, told Chinese President Xi Jinping their countries must be able to talk frankly about disagreements while pursuing closer economic ties and co-operation on global issues.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves is also considering travelling to China in the near future, said two sources.

Her visit will aim to revive trade and investment talks that are supposed to take place annually. The last round of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, as it is called, was held in 2019.

Besides trade, questions on Hong Kong, espionage, and plans for a new Chinese embassy in London await resolution.

Last week, two Britons, including a former researcher for a senior British lawmaker, pleaded not guilty to a charge of spying for China.

That followed China’s accusation in June that British foreign intelligence service MI6 recruited two staff members from unnamed state bodies to act as spies.

Beijing is also waiting for a go-ahead on plans to build a new embassy in London after they were thrown out on security grounds in December 2022.

In recent years, the two countries have also traded barbs on Hong Kong, a former British colony handed back to Beijing in 1997.

More than 180,000 people have moved to Britain from Hong Kong under a special visa programme set up in response to a crackdown on dissent in the Asian financial hub.

In September, a senior Labour lawmaker said Britain should outlaw imports of products made by forced labour in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang.

(Reporting by Joe Cash and Laurie Chen; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)