Foreign Min's China Visit Confirmed

(MNI) London - Finbarr Bermingham at SCMP: "UK gov confirms James Cleverly will visit Beijing tomorrow. He will look to further UK national interests including cyber, international security and human rights· As well as cooperating to face global problems such as climate change. Cleverly will meet FM Wang Yi and VP Han Zheng. First visit since Jeremy Hunt more than 5 years ago."

• UK Foreign Office: "Issues such as climate change cannot be tackled without China - as the world’s largest investor in sustainable energy and the largest emitter of carbon [...]The Foreign Secretary will say that China’s global significance comes with a responsibility on international security – helping to end Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, diffusing tensions in the South China Sea and ceasing malign activity in cyberspace."
• Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spox Wang Wenbin: "“The two sides will have in-depth exchanges on issues of concern [...] We hope that the British side and the Chinese side will work together to uphold the spirit of mutual respect, have in-depth exchanges, enhance understanding, and push forward the stable development of Sino-British relations.”
• Politico reported over the weekend that the UK gov't is likely to invite Chinese representatives to its summit on the future of AI. This is in spite of objections from the US, EU, and Japan. The move also risks angering China hawks within PM Rishi Sunak's own centre-right Conservative Party.