British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to visit China in effort to salvage strained relationship

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is scheduled to visit China at the end of this month in an effort to stabilize the increasingly turbulent relationship between the two nations. The trip, which has been long-awaited, comes at a time when diplomatic ties have hit their lowest point in decades.

Both the British and Chinese foreign ministries have yet to respond to requests for comment regarding the visit. This visit has been highly anticipated, as Cleverly was initially expected to travel to China in late July. However, the trip did not materialize due to the unexpected replacement of his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, with former Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Qin had been missing for over a month before being replaced on July 25th, and the details surrounding his removal remain unclear. He has not been seen in public since late June. According to sources, Cleverly is due to arrive in Beijing on August 29th. However, other sources have only specified that the trip is expected to take place at the end of the month without providing specific dates.

Furthermore, the visit is now expected to last for just a couple of days, and it has been scaled back from its original plan. All three sources requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. If the visit proceeds as planned, Cleverly will be the highest-ranking British official to visit China since the start of the pandemic.

This comes as UK-China relations have suffered due to a range of issues, including Beijing's crackdown in Hong Kong and the treatment of Uyghur Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. The UK government has adopted a relatively tough stance towards China, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stating in May that Beijing poses the biggest challenge to global security and prosperity in today's age.

Adding to the pressure on Sunak are some lawmakers within his Conservative Party who are pushing for a harder stance on China. The United Kingdom is also home to significant Hong Kong and Uyghur diaspora communities, whose activists are vocal about China's alleged human rights abuses.

While other high-ranking European and U.S. officials have visited China with great fanfare following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the UK's visits have been relatively low-key in comparison. A few senior British civil servants have made trips to China in recent months, but they have not garnered the same level of attention.