Xi says China, Britain should remain firm as partners, strengthen dialogue and cooperation

BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that China and Britain should remain firm as partners, strengthen dialogue and cooperation, and benefit the two countries and the world through a stable and mutually beneficial China-Britain relationship.

Xi made the remarks during his phone talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the latter's request, during which he congratulated Starmer on assuming office as British prime minister.

Noting that the current international situation is volatile and intertwined, he said that China and Britain, both permanent members of the UN Security Council and major economies in the world, should view bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective.

China is committed to advancing the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation on all fronts via Chinese modernization, and sticking to the path of peaceful development, Xi said, expressing his hope that Britain can view China in an objective and rational way.

Xi noted that the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made strategic plans for further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese modernization, adding that China will accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, and push forward a new type of industrialization, which will provide more new opportunities for countries around the world including Britain.

China stands ready to engage in equal dialogue with Britain on the basis of mutual respect, enhance mutual understanding and mutual trust, strengthen synergy of development strategies with Britain, expand cooperation in such fields as finance, green economy and artificial intelligence as well as deepen people-to-people exchanges, to make mutual benefit and win-win the main tone of China-Britain relations, Xi said.

For his part, Starmer congratulated the Chinese sports delegation on their excellent performance in the Paris Olympic Games, saying that developing a closer Britain-China cooperative relationship is in the long-term interests of both sides and strengthening cooperation in fields such as economy and trade, finance, education, clean energy, medicine and health is conducive to promoting their respective development and jointly tackling global challenges such as climate change.

The British prime minister said that the British side is willing to enhance contact and dialogue with the Chinese side at all levels and in all sectors, push for positive outcomes in bilateral practical cooperation and mechanism-based exchanges, and develop long-term, stable, and strategic relations with China in the spirit of mutual respect.

Britain is also ready to maintain communication with China on major international and regional issues and contribute to safeguarding global security and stability, Starmer said, noting that he would like to reiterate that Britain's long-standing adherence to the one-China policy remains unchanged.

Xi said that the Chinese side attaches great importance to the British side's desire to enhance contact and dialogue, adding that China is willing to maintain exchanges at all levels with the British side to push for stable and far-reaching bilateral relations and jointly promote world peace and development.