Narrowing divides seen as key to Sino-UK ties

Through a large number of high-level exchanges and contacts between China and the United Kingdom surrounding the coronation of Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Beijing has sent clear signals to London underlining its goodwill in narrowing their differences and carrying forward amity and collaboration, observers said.

President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, sent a congratulatory message on Saturday to King Charles III and Queen Camilla on their coronation.

In the message, Xi and Peng said that China is ready to work with the UK to boost the friendship of their peoples, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, deepen cultural exchanges, and "bring more benefits to the two countries and the wider world with stable and mutually beneficial China-UK relations".

They noted that the world currently is going through profound, complex changes, and the international community is faced with many unprecedented challenges.

Xi and Peng also noted that China and the UK are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

The two countries "should take a long-term and strategic view" to jointly promote the historical trend featuring peace, development and win-win cooperation, they added.

Vice-President Han Zheng attended the coronation ceremony and related events on Friday and Saturday as Xi's special representative.

Han conveyed Xi's sincere congratulations and best wishes to King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the British royal family and the British people.

Charles III asked Han to convey his heartfelt thanks and cordial greetings to President Xi, thanked Xi and Peng for sending the congratulatory message, and welcomed Han's attendance at the coronation ceremony.

Citing the importance of UK-China relations, Charles III voiced hope that the two countries will carry out further cooperation in a wide range of fields such as green and low-carbon efforts, sustainable development and climate change, and that China will further play a leading role in areas including green development.

Last year, China-UK trade exceeded $100 billion, and two-way investment surpassed $50 billion, according to the Chinese embassy in the UK.

However, some UK political figures and scholars have cast a shadow on the bilateral ties by labeling China as a "challenge "or even a "threat", analysts said.

Wang Yiwei, a professor at Renmin University of China's School of International Studies and director of the university's Institute of International Affairs, said that "Beijing and London should maximize their efforts" in eliminating any disturbance or obstacles coming from the political and ideological domains, and should roll out more pragmatic cooperation in specific areas.

"Although their two-way collaboration has been affected by distrust stemming from ideological contexts, we should see that the two countries are highly complementary when it comes to the economy, and there is huge space for their collaboration in a number of areas," he said.

During his stay in the UK, Vice-President Han also had brief meetings with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and William, prince of Wales, and held talks with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden.

Han said China is willing to strengthen cooperation with the UK for mutual benefit and common development, and "it is hoped that the British government will create a fair, just and nondiscriminatory investment environment for Chinese companies".

Han called on London to provide a good and safe study and living environment for Chinese students as well as safety and convenience for Chinese tourists.

China is willing to conduct exchanges with the UK on a wide range of issues on the premise of mutual respect and equal treatment, enhance mutual understanding, narrow differences, and jointly promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations for the benefit of the two countries and the world, he added.

"The UK used to be in the lead among Western countries when it comes to relations with China. It should not lag behind now,"Chinese Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang said recently.

In a speech to members of the UK Parliament last month, Zheng urged both countries to "work in the same direction, focus on cooperation, and properly handle differences on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit".