British foreign secretary set to visit China

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to arrive in China on a three-day visit to attend the 11th China-UK Strategic Dialogue, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Cooper is visiting at the invitation of her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi till June 3, the ministry said on Sunday.

The visit comes months after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s landmark China visit earlier this year, which marked the first such trip since 2018.

According to Chinese experts, Cooper’s trip reflects the UK’s desire to maintain communication channels with major powers such as China amid mounting global uncertainties, while advancing the outcomes of Starmer’s visit, the local English daily Global Times reported.

The UK was the first major Western country to recognize China in 1950, and the two sides upgraded ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in May 2004.

With an annual bilateral trade volume of $98.36 billion in 2024, the two sides also instituted high-level exchange mechanisms, including the Annual Prime Minister’s Meeting, Economic and Financial Dialogue, Strategic Dialogue, and High-Level People-to-People Dialogue.