BEIJING, Aug 23: Chinese President Xi Jinping held his first conversation with new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday, emphasising that China hopes to achieve "common wins" with the United Kingdom, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
China was Britain's fifth-largest trading partner as of 2023, according to official UK statistics, but diplomatic relations have been icy in recent years as the countries sparred over Beijing's tightening control over former British colony Hong Kong.
During a phone call between the two leaders on Friday afternoon, Xi congratulated Starmer on becoming prime minister, CCTV said.
His comments also appeared to call for resetting the relationship.
"China is willing to conduct equal dialogue with the UK side on the basis of mutual respect... (and) expand cooperation in the fields of finance, green economy, artificial intelligence, etc," Xi was quoted as saying.
The Chinese president added that he aimed to "make mutual benefits and common wins the fundamental tone of China-UK relations", CCTV said.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang was the first senior leader from the country to publicly congratulate Starmer, two days after the Labour leader became prime minister.
Friday's phone call -- which CCTV said came at Starmer's invitation -- is the first to be reported between top Chinese and British leaders since Xi spoke with former prime minister Boris Johnson in March 2022.
Ties between the countries became strained under Johnson's successor, Rishi Sunak. —AFP
