China was Britain’s fifth-largest trading partner in 2023 (File)
Beijing:
Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday congratulated new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on his election, state media reported, the first senior leader in Beijing to do so publicly.
China is “willing to work with the new UK government to consolidate political mutual trust and expand mutually beneficial cooperation,” Li told Starmer, according to state news agency Xinhua.
His appeal came after days of silence from senior officials in Beijing, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying only that it was aware of the UK election results.
In comparison, Chinese leader Xi Jinping congratulated Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, just hours after his election on Saturday.
China was Britain’s fifth-largest trading partner in 2023, according to the UK Department for Business and Commerce.
But diplomatic relations between the two countries have been frosty in recent years, with Beijing and London arguing over tightening communist control in former British colony Hong Kong.
The two sides have also traded accusations of espionage, with Beijing claiming last month that MI6 recruited Chinese state officials to spy for the UK.
Xinhua said on Sunday that Li told Starmer that “strengthening bilateral coordination and cooperation was in the interests of both sides.”
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