British Foreign Secretary Cleverley may visit China next month | World News

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is likely to visit China next month, according to people familiar with the matter, as the two countries seek to stabilize a volatile relationship that has recently hit its lowest point in decades.

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Cleverly is in talks to visit China in late July, but nothing has been confirmed, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plan publicly.

Asked whether Cleverly would accept an invitation to visit China, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said: “Obviously you wouldn’t expect me to speculate on future ministerial trips”.

“Of course, it’s his job to get involved in international affairs, but the Foreign Office will do it in the normal way. In general, our position on China is consistent with that of our closest allies, and of course you will know that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Will go to Beijing in the next few days.”

The British Foreign Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Politico reported earlier Wednesday that China had formally invited Cleverly to visit.

Any visit to China would be a sign of progress in attempts to improve relations after Cleverley gave a wide-ranging speech in April, the clearest explanation yet for Britain’s new approach to the world’s second-largest economy try.

Cleverly said in his speech that the UK would seek to protect itself by limiting the threat China posed to national security, while pursuing activities in areas such as trade, investment and climate change.

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Britain has drastically changed its attitude towards China over the past eight years, from saying it wanted to be China’s biggest supporter in Europe to now being one of its most vehement critics.

In his first foreign policy speech late last year, Sunak said the so-called “golden age” of relations with China under former prime minister David Cameron was over.