Starmer In First Call For PM w/Chinese President Since March 2022

(MNI) London - Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has held his first official phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping according to Chinese state outlet CCTV. According to SCMP the call, coming at Starmer's request, is the first between a Chinese president and British PM since Xi and former PM Boris Johnson talked in March 2022.

• Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spox Hua Chunying posts on X regarding the call that the two countries, "...need to view their relations from a long-term and strategic perspective, [...] and build a stable and mutually beneficial relationship that contributes to the well-being of the two countries and the world. [...]China is prepared to have equal-footed and mutually respectful dialogue with the UK to enhance mutual understanding and trust,[...] expand cooperation in such areas as financial services, green economy and artificial intelligence, thus making mutual benefit the defining feature of China-UK relations. China places high importance on the UK’s desire for more engagement and dialogue,[...]"
• Under the previous Conservative administrations of prime ministers Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, Sino-British relations deteriorated amid hawkish rhetoric on security and trade. During the election campaign and since winning power in July, Starmer and his centre-left Labour gov't have spoken little on how it views relations with Beijing panning out in the coming years, whether in an adversarial or cooperative direction.