British Prime Minister Wants to Be Straight About Disagreements with China

London [UK], August 24: Reuters on August 23 quoted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as telling Chinese President Xi Jinping that the two countries must be able to discuss frankly the areas where the two sides still disagree.
"As permanent members of the UN Security Council, the leaders agreed on the importance of working closely together on areas such as climate change and global security," Starmer's office said in a statement.
The British prime minister added that he hoped the leaders could have open, frank and honest discussions to resolve and clarify areas of disagreement where necessary, such as Hong Kong, Russia's military campaign in Ukraine and human rights, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, Xinhua quoted Mr. Xi as saying that China is willing to maintain exchanges at all levels with the British side and promote a stable and far-reaching relationship.
Mr. Xi said that the Chinese side attaches great importance to the British side's wish to increase contact and dialogue.
China is willing to engage in equal dialogue with the UK on the basis of mutual respect, enhance mutual understanding and mutual trust, and put common interests and mutual benefit at the core of China-UK relations, according to the leader.
In addition, Mr. Xi said that China is also willing to strengthen coordination in development strategies with the UK, expand cooperation in areas such as finance, green economy and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as enhance people-to-people exchanges.
In another development, Reuters on August 23 quoted informed sources as saying that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will visit China next week and meet with Politburo member and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The two sides are expected to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting between US President Joe Biden and Mr. Xi Jinping later this year, following the summit in California (USA) last November.
Mr. Sullivan's visit on August 27-29 took place in the context of the US presidential election, in which both Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, have taken a tough stance on China, especially on tariffs.
The White House confirmed that Mr. Sullivan will visit China next week. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper