BEIJING: The foreign ministers of China and Britain said Saturday they wanted to deepen cooperation after they met on the sidelines of the Munich security conference, despite London raising “disagreements” over human rights.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told UK counterpart David Cameron at Friday’s meeting that they should “strengthen exchanges and cooperation”, state media in Beijing said on Saturday.
London, meanwhile, later said the pair had “agreed that the UK and China should continue engagement across a range of areas.
“This includes trade links; building on our existing cultural ties and links between our peoples; and working together to tackle climate change,” it added in a statement.
China and the UK have traded barbs in recent months over accusations of human rights abuses and espionage.
The Chinese foreign ministry said last month it had sentenced a British national to jail for spying and has previously blasted the UK’s support for pro-democracy protesters from Hong Kong.
During Friday’s meeting, Cameron “unambiguously set out the UK’s position across a number of areas of disagreement, including on human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong”, said the UK Foreign Office. He raised the case of UK parliamentarians sanctioned by China and repeated his call for the release of British national Jimmy Lai.
Cameron also urged China to “use its influence on Iran to pressure the Houthis over their actions in the Red Sea.”
Wang told Cameron that the two countries should “enhance strategic communication and play their due roles in promoting security and maintaining peace”, state news agency Xinhua said in a readout on Saturday.
Wang warned that the world faced challenges including “resurfacing Cold War mentality, rampant protectionism, and sluggish economic recovery”, according to Xinhua.
He called for the two nations to “strengthen exchanges and cooperation... and bring bilateral relations back to the right track of sound and steady development”.
Wang was set to make a speech on Saturday at the annual security gathering in Munich, which brings together top diplomatic and military officials from around the world.
He also met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, holding what the Chinese foreign ministry called “candid, substantive and constructive discussions”.