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Chinese leaders who have met Queen Elizabeth II (6)

(People's Daily Online)    08:38, June 20, 2014
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London, March 31, 1998

At the invitation of British Prime Minister Blair, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji arrived in London on March 31 1998, and began his official visit to Britain. In the afternoon, Elizabeth II met Zhu Rongji at Windsor Palace and both sides held a friendly dialogue.

Zhu first conveyed Chinese President Jiang Zemin’s greetings to the Queen. She thanked him and asked Zhu to convey her warm congratulations to Jiang on being re-elected as Chinese president.

She said it was encouraging that Sino-British ties have entered a new stage. She recalled her visit to China in 1986 and said the visit had left her with a deep impression. She also said she had learned that there had been great changes in Shanghai and other Chinese cities, and that the current situation in Hong Kong was very good too.

Background:

According to Ma Zhenggang, former Chinese ambassador to Britain, the Queen meets heads of state or royal family members with historical lineage relationships twice a year, in the first half and the second half respectively.

On February 27 this year, Queen Elizabeth met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Buckingham Palace.

In May, Buckingham Palace announced the Queen’s attendance at various ceremonies and occasions, including the most important ceremony of the opening of the British Parliament. Her Majesty will not personally meet with foreign guests as head of state of the UK and the Commonwealth, and Prince Charles will replace her to attend royal activities.

Ma believes that Queen Elizabeth II’s meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang shows that Britain attaches great importance to Sino-British ties and the British government hopes to raise bilateral relations to a new height.


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(Editor:Liang Jun、Zhang Qian)

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