Xi talks with British PM over phone

BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday held a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Xi stressed that for China-Britain relations to achieve sound development, mutual trust is the foundation, understanding is the precondition, and proper management of differences is the key.

China, he added, views China-Britain ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, and hopes that Britain will respect facts and perceive China's development path and system in a comprehensive and objective way.

As the COVID-19 pandemic is undergoing twists and turns, and the global economy is experiencing a daunting recovery, China-Britain relations are facing both opportunities and challenges, Xi said.

China and Britain, both as permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council and major economies in the world, should keep smooth communication, strengthen cooperation, and contribute to defeating the pandemic at an early date, improving global governance and achieving development and prosperity, he added.

Noting that the next year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Britain ambassadorial-level diplomatic ties, Xi said the two sides should seize the opportunity, cope with challenges, and work together to achieve sustained and steady progress of their relationship on the right track.

The fact that bilateral trade and investment have grown despite the impact of the pandemic has once again proved that China-Britain cooperation is mutually beneficial, he added.

China, he said, welcomes Britain to export more high-quality products to China and expand cooperation in such fields as health care, green development, digital economy, finance and innovation.

Expressing the hope that Britain will treat Chinese enterprises in a fair, just and non-discriminatory way, he said China will also facilitate British enterprises' cooperation in China.

He also suggested that the two sides take the Beijing Winter Olympics as an opportunity to deepen sports cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

China and Britain should practice true multilateralism, he said, adding that China welcomes Britain to join the Global Development Initiative and inject momentum into the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Xi stressed that China has announced carbon peak and neutrality goals, and proposed a series of concrete measures to increase its nationally determined contributions, which means extensive and profound economic and social transformations that need to proceed in an orderly fashion and require tremendous efforts.

China is unwaveringly committed to accelerating green and low-carbon development, and has always walked its talk, he said.

China, he added, supports Britain playing its role as host of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, upholding the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and encouraging all parties to translate their high ambitions into concrete actions.

For his part, Johnson said he highly values Britain's relations with China, and agrees with Xi's views on the development of bilateral ties.

Britain and China have consensus and common interests on many important issues, such as global public health, world economic recovery, the Iranian nuclear issue and anti-terrorism, he said, adding that the two sides need to strengthen candid dialogue and friendly cooperation.

He said his country is willing to deepen cooperation with China in such areas as economy, trade, education and clean energy, welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest and cooperate in Britain, and is ready to provide them with an open business environment.

Britain, he added, is also willing to make joint efforts with China to achieve greater development of bilateral relations.

The British leader congratulated China on successfully hosting the first phase of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming.

Britain, he added, looks forward to working with China to maintain close communication on addressing global climate change and biodiversity conservation, and promote balanced and sustainable development of the world.