China ready to maintain long-term relationship with UK

China and the United Kingdom have maintained close interactions this year, with bilateral cooperation yielding results, a Chinese Embassy official in London said on Wednesday. Bi Haibo, minister counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in the UK, made the remarks during a media briefing in London on China’s foreign policy and a newly released white paper titled ‘More Just and Equitable Global Governance: China’s Principles, Proposals and Actions’. Bi said China is ready to continue working with the UK on the basis of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, and to maintain the healthy and long-term development of China-UK relations. The white paper, released by the State Council Information Office of China on 17 June, outlines China’s principles, proposals, and actions regarding global governance. It portrays China as an active participant, contributor, and builder of global governance, and calls for efforts to build a fairer and more equitable global governance system. Bi said the document provides a systematic explanation of China’s approach to foreign policy and global governance at a time when the world faces growing deficits in peace, development, security, and trust. China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and upholds sovereign equality as a fundamental principle in international relations, he said, adding that all countries, regardless of size, strength, or wealth, are equal members of the international community. Responding to a question from Xinhua regarding claims by some Western academics and politicians that China’s cooperation with other countries resembles a so-called ‘21st-century tribute system’, Bi described such rhetoric as a misinterpretation and oversimplification of China’s foreign policy. ‘Such arguments are outdated,’ Bi said. ‘They fail to understand the development of China’s diplomacy and fail to grasp the true spirit of China’s foreign policy.’ He said applying concepts from ancient history to interpret China’s current diplomacy is neither accurate nor acceptable, as China’s foreign policy today is based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, mutually beneficial cooperation, and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. China does not seek to impose its model on other countries, nor does it coerce or pressure any country into taking sides with China, Bi said, adding that this is fundamentally different from the alliance-based approach pursued by some Western countries, whether military, economic, or ideological. Bi added that China considers itself a member of the Global South and firmly supports the equal participation of all countries in international governance.