Britain confronted China over its conduct towards Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang on Friday at a bilateral ministerial meeting, signaling London’s more outspoken approach to raising concerns with Beijing.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly spoke for 30 minutes via interpreters with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, who had traveled to London to attend the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.
The meeting took place 10 days after Cleverly gave a speech at the Mansion House outlining Britain’s position on China in depth.
The speech, widely seen as a response to China’s conservative backbenchers, laid out the case for engagement with China, both in the areas of dissent and agreement.
After the bilateral meeting, Cleverly made it clear that he had put the new approach into action, revealing that he and Han discussed “areas of deep disagreement and vital cooperation.”
He wrote on Twitter: “Today with Vice President Han Zheng I made clear the UK’s views on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan. We also discussed working together on climate change , economic ties and interpersonal ties.
According to officials, Cleverly also referred to Beijing’s decision in 2021 to sanction five British MPs who criticized the Chinese Communist Party’s attitude towards human rights. Inconvenient for Anglo-Chinese relations, the group included Tom Tugendhat, who, although a backbench MP at the time, has since been promoted to British security minister.
The bilateral meeting on the eve of the coronation came amid anger in more hawkish conservative circles over Chinese President Xi Jinping’s decision to send Han, the politician accused of oversee breach of UK-China joint statement on Hong Kongat the royal ceremony.
Lord Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong before the territory was returned to China, said the choice of participants showed that China did not care about Britain.
The tone of the meeting between Cleverly and Han, which took place at 1 Carlton Gardens in London, where foreign ministers are often entertained, was considered professional and polite by the British side.
According to those close to the talks, Han informally suggested that Cleverly should go to China. No formal invitation has been extended to the foreign minister, although the government has made clear its willingness to hold face-to-face talks on the Chinese mainland in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
The Foreign Secretary’s remarks about the meeting have come under scrutiny from China watchers in Britain. Sophia Gaston, head of foreign policy at the right-wing think tank Policy Exchange, said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pursues his relationship with China – and foreign policy more generally – through a “prism of ‘engagement’. pragmatic”, and with an eye on the chessboard”.
She added: “It is fair to say that the move towards dialogue with China. . . will only be legitimized by a much more sensible approach to national security.
Friday marked a day of diplomacy as Sunak held one-on-one meetings with several world leaders in London for the coronation, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Emir Tamim Bin. Hamad al-Thani of Qatar.
Meanwhile, King Charles attended a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government, then later hosted a reception for royals, leaders and foreign dignitaries at Buckingham Palace.
The Chinese Embassy in London has been contacted for comment.
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