China and the UK restart economic and financial talks after a 6-year hiatus

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China and Britain restarted economic and financial talks on Saturday after a six-year hiatus during a visit by Britain’s Treasury chief to Beijing, as the U.K.’s Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with the world’s second-largest economy.

Rachel Reeves traveled to Beijing accompanied by a delegation of British business leaders and finance officials. She met with Chinese leaders including Vice Premier He Lifeng and Vice President Han Zheng.

The two sides revived the China-U.K. Economic and Financial Dialogue — annual bilateral talks that have been suspended since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating relations. London hopes renewed dialogues will help bring down barriers that U.K. businesses face when looking to export or expand to China.

“Today marks a significant milestone in the U.K.-China relationship with the first Economic and Financial Dialogue between our countries for nearly six years,” Reeves said. She said the meeting signaled the new U.K. government’s “commitment to fostering a stable, long-term partnership” with China and desire to boost economic cooperation.

Britain wants to improve exchanges in areas such as sustainable finance, capital markets connectivity, pensions and regulatory alignment, as well as trade and investment, Reeves added.

“As part of this, it is important to prevent economic links weakening our national security and economic resilience,” she said.

Vice Premier He said China and Britain should improve cooperation in trade and investment, clean energy, financial services, the green economy, biomedicine, artificial intelligence and other fields.

“We are willing to work with the U.K. to create a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment and provide good conditions for the other side’s companies to invest and operate in each other’s countries,” he said.

The Sino-British ties have soured following a series of spying allegations from both sides, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and a crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony.

British officials said Reeves will also urge Beijing to stop its material and economic support for the Russian war effort in Ukraine and raise the issue of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong.

The delegation included Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and the CEOs of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and the London Stock Exchange Group. Senior executives from some of Britain’s biggest financial services firms, including the group chairs of HSBC and Standard Chartered, were also included.

Reeves’ visit comes after Foreign Secretary David Lammy traveled to China in October and Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November.

It’s all part of a bid by Starmer, elected as leader in July, to strengthen political and economic ties with China, the U.K.’s fourth-largest single trading partner, according to the Treasury.

Officials said Starmer wanted a “pragmatic” approach to working with Beijing on global stability, climate change and the transition to clean energy. But some in the opposition Conservative Party have criticized his stance and said trade ties should not come at the expense of national security and human rights concerns.

British political leaders and intelligence chiefs have repeatedly warned that China poses security threats. Calls to tackle the challenge grew louder last month when it emerged that an alleged Chinese spy had cultivated close ties with Prince Andrew and carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for China’s ruling Communist Party, according to officials.

“National security is the foundation of what any government acting in the national interest will prioritize,” Reeves said. “But we need to make sure that we have pragmatic and good relations with countries around the world. That is in our national interest.”

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Associated Press writer Sylvia Hui in London and video producer Caroline Chen in Beijing contributed to this report.

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