On the 10th, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with the new British Trade Minister Kearns, marking the first bilateral trade talks between China and the UK since 2018. He Lifeng stated that the goal is to promote the sustained, stable, and healthy development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, while the UK side seeks the removal of trade barriers.
According to China's official news agency Xinhua, on the morning of the 10th, He Lifeng met with Kearns at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. He expressed that the Chinese side will continue to work with the UK to implement the important consensus reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Starmer, promote the sustained, stable, and healthy development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and ensure the stable and long-term advancement of relations between the two countries. China is committed to high-level openness to the outside world and strongly supports British companies in maintaining their confidence to invest in China, continuing to cultivate the Chinese market, and sharing the dividends of China’s super large-scale market.
According to Chinese sources, Kearns stated that the UK highly values economic and trade cooperation with China and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China, and to continuously deepen UK-China trade and investment relations.
According to recent foreign media reports, Kearns’ visit to China marks the first meeting of the UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) since 2018. The UK is seeking to remove trade barriers worth one billion pounds (5.704 billion ringgit) over the next five years.
In a statement, Kearns said that serious and strategic engagement with one of the world’s most important economic players will benefit British workers and businesses. Engaging in more discussions and direct contacts with China will ensure that trade between the two countries thrives, strengthen the UK’s national security, and create space to raise concerns in a constructive manner when necessary.