Overview
- The foreign secretary met Chinese vice‑president Han Zheng and foreign minister Wang Yi on Tuesday for multi‑hour talks that framed the UK and China as P5 partners on global crises such as Ukraine, Iran and international health threats.
- Cooper said London and Beijing share an interest in a rules‑based international order and raised the need for global AI safety standards involving the United Nations.
- She told reporters she had pressed Chinese officials on the case of British citizen Jimmy Lai and vowed to continue raising his detention with Beijing without giving details of progress.
- UK officials used temporary ‘burner’ phones during the trip as an operational security measure that underlines continuing espionage concerns despite public rapprochement.
- The visit moves on to Shenzhen for trade and technology talks and then to Delhi to meet India’s foreign minister, while opposition parties and rights groups continue to press the government for a tougher stance on human rights and security risks.