BEIJING (AP) 鈥 British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he raised concerns over China鈥檚 human rights record during a visit to Beijing on Wednesday while also stressing the importance of maintaining a 鈥減ragmatic鈥 working relationship and reopening channels of communication.
The trip, the first by a U.K. foreign secretary to China in more than five years, is an attempt to thaw in recent years over issues including Beijing鈥檚 crackdown on civil liberties in , , China鈥檚 support for Russia, and Britain鈥檚 close security ties with the United States.
The visit divided opinion in Britain's governing Conservative Party, and some lawmakers who have long called for a tougher stance on China criticized the visit as a form of appeasement.
Cleverly and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the trip as a 鈥渟ensible鈥 approach.
"It鈥檚 perfectly possible to engage with China at the same time as being very robust in standing up for our interests and our values,鈥 Sunak told reporters in London.
Cleverly met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice President Han Zheng during his one-day visit. The diplomats underscored the importance of dialogue between their countries, though they also alluded to the .
Wang said cooperation between China and Britain had 鈥済lobal impact.鈥
鈥淒ialogue and cooperation are the keywords and main tone of China鈥檚 policy towards the U.K.,鈥 he said. 鈥淥f course, we have also noticed that from time to time there have been some noises in the Sino-British relationship, and some people have even questioned your visit to Beijing.鈥
Cleverly, whose government鈥檚 China policy has been described by critics as inconsistent, has said it was paramount to maintain communication with Beijing to avoid misunderstandings.
鈥淚t is important that countries like ours meet and speak face to face on regular occasions to enhance understanding, to avoid misunderstanding and to address the challenges and differences of opinion that all countries have in bilateral relations,鈥 Cleverly said after meeting with Han.
He said he had 鈥渁 number of conversations with senior representatives of the Chinese government and I have raised human rights in every single one of those meetings, and I will continue to do so.鈥
鈥淚 am clear-eyed 鈥 that we are not going to change China overnight," he added. 鈥淏ut it is important that we maintain regular dialogue."
Like his predecessor Boris Johnson, Sunak is aiming to pursue a non-confrontational approach to relations with Beijing. While Sunak has described China as a growing 鈥渟ystemic challenge鈥 to Britain鈥檚 values and interests, he has repeatedly stressed the need to maintain a relationship with the Asian superpower.
Cleverly鈥檚 visit came as British lawmakers on Parliament鈥檚 foreign affairs committee published a report that called the activities of the Chinese Communist Party 鈥渁 threat to the U.K. and its interests.鈥
The lawmakers criticized British authorities for a lack of coherence in their approach to Beijing and called on the government to publish an unclassified version of its China strategy.
They also urged the U.K. government to take a harder stance against Chinese attempts to target dissidents abroad -- including those who have sought refuge in Britain -- and called for officials to intensify efforts to discourage the use of some Chinese technologies such as in Chinese-made surveillance cameras.
Lawmaker Alicia Kearns, who chairs the committee, said keeping up a dialogue with Beijing was preferable to disengagement.
鈥淚t is more important that we are in the room with them in stark disagreement, rather than cutting off relations,鈥 she told the BBC.
The visit could pave the way for a meeting between Sunak and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi next week. Sunak declined to answer when asked Wednesday whether such a meeting was possible, only saying that it was 鈥渟ensible to engage鈥 with countries to find common ground.
Asked about Cleverly鈥檚 agenda at a daily briefing Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that, as two of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and major economies, China and Britain should 鈥渟houlder the common responsibility of promoting world peace, stability and development.鈥
He added, however, that 鈥渋ssues related to Hong Kong and Xinjiang are purely China鈥檚 internal affairs, and no country should interfere.鈥
The visit was not expected to yield any major tangible results due in part to the countries鈥 conflicting objectives, said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London.
鈥淭he fact that they are talking is a positive,鈥 Tsang said. 鈥淲e need to engage in conversation with China, we need to have effective communication channels with China 鈥 even if we don鈥檛 agree on anything 鈥 because China does matter.鈥
___
Associated Press writers Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan, and Sylvia Hui and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.