UK foreign secy to visit China this week

BEIJING, Oct 17 (AFP): British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will visit China this week, Beijing said Thursday, marking the first by a senior UK official since the election of Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July.

China and Britain are seeking to reset ties frayed in recent years by Beijing's security crackdown in Hong Kong and human rights concerns in regions including its troubled Xinjiang region.

Beijing's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that Lammy "will pay an official visit to China from October 18 to 19".

The two sides would "have in-depth exchanges on implementing the consensus reached by their leaders" during an August phone call, Mao said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

"China and the UK are both permanent members of the UN Security Council and major world economies," Mao said.

"The long-term stable development of bilateral relations accords with the common interests of both countries," she added.