BEIJING: The Britain-China relationship will adapt itself to the new era after Brexit to benefit the people of the two countries, and the pair is together a force for good in a fast changing world, British Ambassador to China Barbara Woodward said.
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Britain in 2015, the two countries have forged a “Golden-Era” partnership and used that to build a strong foundation for bilateral ties, which have witnessed extensive intergovernmental exchanges, good business links, as well as a strong growth in people-to-people exchanges, according to the ambassador.
Hailing the “steady growth” in the London-Beijing relationship last year, Woodward believes Brexit offers Britain an opportunity to deepen the ties in the future as her country will have new freedoms to develop free trade partnerships with others and is keen to promote trade and investment ties with China.
According to the diplomat, Britain and China have started a joint economic and trade review, which is in its preparatory phase, to find out whether a free trade agreement or other approaches would best serve the interests of the two sides.
The two countries’ relations not just benefit their people, but also have global characteristics, said Woodward. “We are living in a far more technological world,” and the threat of climate change is much more acute, she said, calling on both countries to adapt their ties to all global changes so that they remain “strong and relevant,” and beneficial for both countries and peoples.
In particular, they need to work together on “really pressing issues of the day,” she noted. “I would put climate change right at the very top of that list, and I think that’s where it should be. So our mutual work on climate change and biodiversity will be very important,” she said. – The Daily Mail-People’s Daily News exchange item
