Beijing should reciprocate the new British government’s willingness to re-engage with China to mend their frosty relations, an influential former British trade secretary said on Monday.
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Speaking at the University of Hong Kong, Peter Mandelson also called on China to step up mediation efforts to help broker peace in Russia’s grinding war against Ukraine.
While the new government faced “colossal challenges” to retrieve Britain’s global clout, Mandelson said, he was “optimistic” about improved bilateral ties with Beijing under Keir Starmer, the country’s first Labour prime minister since 2010.
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“I am optimistic because the incoming government has decided that it wants to engage with China after many years of a very poor, deteriorating relationship,” said Mandelson, also a former European trade commissioner.
“And the incoming Labour government wants to change that course and I hope that China will reciprocate in that re-engagement.”