Foreign ministers' talks between the U.K. and China...Lammy "Constructive Discussion" and Wang Yi "New Start"

British Foreign Minister David Lammy arrived in Beijing on the 18th local time to begin his two-day tour.

This is the first visit by a ministerial-level official to China since Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labor government was launched in July.

According to AFP and other foreign media, Lammy met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and said, "The UK always puts national security and national interests first," adding, "There are areas of disagreement between the two countries, but we hope to find a space to discuss constructively."

In response, Wang said, "The relationship between the two countries is at a new starting point," and called for strengthening strategic communication and developing relations to a new stage.

The British foreign minister's visit to China has been a year and two months since James Cleverly, the former Conservative government.

Relations between the two countries are in a tight phase due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Hong Kong issue and suspicions of Chinese hacking.

In the UK, a British parliamentary researcher was arrested in September last year on charges of spying on the Chinese side, and China also announced earlier this year that it had discovered that Chinese state secrets had been leaked to the UK's foreign intelligence service, escalating the conflict.

The Reuters news agency predicted the visit would not allow the two countries to reach a major diplomatic agreement or declare a reset of relations.

After his visit to China, Lammy will attend the 9th Korea-U.K. Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue in Seoul on the 21st.