Jeremy Hunt, U.K.'s foreign secretary, met with his Chinese counterpart during the U.K.-China Strategic Dialogue held on July 30. Hunt's visit in the country became his first major international trip after replacing Boris Johnson earlier this month. The meeting between the two officials was expected to strengthen U.K. and China relations ahead of Brexit in 2019.
The highlight of the dialogue was the offer from Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi to open the discussions about possible free trade between the U.K. and China after post-Brexit. Hunt said the proposal is something that his country welcomes and is very much willing to explore, underlining the topic of free trade as being of particular interest among his people.
In his opening statement, Hunt said he chose China to be his first primary assignment overseas because the U.K. regards its relationship with the country as incredibly significant. The foreign secretary highlighted Britain's nearly $91 billion of Chinese trade yearly. In 2017 alone, the UK's exports to China increased up to 32 percent. He also underscored that about 150,000 Chinese students chose to study in the U.K. every year.
"We in the UK think the rise of China, China's economy and Chinese power, can and must be a positive force in the world. And we want to work very hard to strengthen and deepen our relationship to make sure that's the case," Hunt said, according to an official release from UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
For his part, Foreign Minister Wang stressed that China's respect of U.K. goes beyond its manner of conducting its bilateral relations. Wang recognized U.K.'s work with China as a permanent member of the Security Council, U.K.'s participation in other parts of the U.N. and international hotspots like Syria, and U.K.'s involvement in major organizations like the World Trade Organization.
Hunt and Wang are also expected to discuss the importance of multilateralism and free trade with other countries. Other agenda on the discussion is climate change, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea.
In his speech ahead of his visit to the Republic, Hunt described U.K. and China as two major powers in the international arena. He said Britain is committed to continuing its deep partnership with China in the 21st century towards the Golden Era for U.K.-China relations.
Meanwhile, U.K.'s Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced Hunt would be traveling next to Paris and Vienna for talks with officials regarding U.K.'s exit from the European Union. Also on the agenda are discussions on international security issues such as conflicts with Russia, the ongoing Syria War, and the Iran nuclear deal.
