Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and British Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds met in London on Monday, promising to deepen economic and trade cooperation between China and the UK.
During their candid and practical discussions, both sides agreed to implement the important consensus reached by their countries’ leaders. They aim to hold the 14th meeting of the China-UK Joint Economic and Trade Commission as soon as possible and promote cooperation across various sectors.
“China and the UK are significant economic and trade partners,” Wang stated. “We should not only address past differences through consultation but also explore future potential through dialogue in areas like sustainable development, digital economy, green economy, and finance.”
Wang emphasized China’s commitment to further opening up to the world, inviting British companies to invest and start businesses to share opportunities in the Chinese market.
He noted that unilateralism and protectionism have severely impacted the global economic order. As key members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), China and the UK should firmly support the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.
Reynolds expressed Britain’s strong interest in economic and trade cooperation with China and its vast market. “We are eager to expand bilateral trade, especially in service trade,” he said. “Britain welcomes Chinese companies to invest and aims to build a stable, pragmatic, and predictable bilateral economic and trade relationship.”
He added that Britain is ready to work with China to uphold free trade and open markets, strengthen cooperation under multilateral frameworks, and jointly maintain the multilateral trading system.
