Ambassador: Good diplomacy is about connecting people, promoting friendship

On 10 July, the Great Britain-China Centre held a reception to celebrate its 50th anniversary at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. H.E. Ambassador Zheng Zeguang attended the reception at invitation and delivered an address titled "Building More Bridges of Communication and Cooperation". The full text of the address is as follows:

Minister West,

Sir David,

Sir Martin,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for the kind invitation to this celebration. Congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the Great Britain-China Centre (GBCC).

Over the past five decades, GBCC has served as an important bridge between our two countries, working tirelessly to bring the peoples of China and the UK together and promote cooperation between the two governments.

On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, I would like to extend a deep appreciation for your enormous work. I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to friends from various sectors who have given care and support to the development of China-UK relations.

The past 50 years has witnessed phenomenal changes in our respective societies and around the world. This provides a lot of food for thought as we reflect on good diplomacy, and China-UK relations.

Good diplomacy is all about connecting people and promoting friendship.

I am pleased to have hosted around 80 Chinese delegations here in London since last year, many of whom from provinces and cities, and also from universities and businesses.

And I am especially delighted to note that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra are visiting China soon. I wish them great success there. I also know that more and more UK businesses are returning to China.

Despite that, in the past few years, engagement and communication between our governments were far from enough, and this has to be rectified as a matter of urgency.

We welcome more engagement and interactions at the governmental level. We also hope to see more UK tourists and students in China. Engagement and communication will lead to better understanding and can reduce misunderstanding and misjudgment.

Good diplomacy is also about managing difficult issues and creating opportunities to work together.

Both China and the UK are proud of our respective histories, and are steadfast in safeguarding our respective national interests. But we should never shut down or restrict the channels of communication, and still less, allow our relations to be dictated or hijacked by any third country.

As we have learned in the past over half a century, the right way to deal with any differences is to respect each other's core interests, and through dialogue and consultation, minimize the disturbance they bring to the overall relationship.

Both China and the UK face important tasks in growing the economy and improving people's lives.

Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has been committed to advancing Chinese modernization through high-quality development.

China will continue to roll out major measures to expand comprehensive reform and high-level opening up, and in this process, we are ready to broaden mutually beneficial cooperation with the UK and countries around the world.

Be it on trade and investment, financial services, renewable energy and green technology, or infrastructure, scientific innovation, cultural and creative industries and healthcare, there is ample space for cooperation between China and the UK.

Be it on combating cross-border crimes, the governance of AI safety, addressing climate change, or the settlement of regional  and international hotspot issues, China and the UK should enhance communication and coordination.

We all know from facts that our cooperation can help both countries grow our respective economies, bring down the cost of living, raise productivity and accelerate the green transition.

Our collaboration on international issues will also help to reduce misjudgment on certain issues, ease tensions, and give diplomacy a better chance. That is also the responsibility we should carry as permanent members of the UN Security Council.

In his recent congratulatory letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Premier Li Qiang stressed that China places high importance on its relations with the UK, and stands ready to work with the new British government to consolidate political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and intensify people-to-people exchanges, in an effort to drive economic and social development in our respective countries, and promote world peace, stability, and prosperity.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi also expressed similar wishes in his letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

The Chinese side stands ready to explore the path forward in enhancing communication and collaboration with UK colleagues.

Now more than ever, we need GBCC and organizations like yours to help build more bridges of communication and cooperation.

And we are ready to work with people like you and friends from all walks of life in the UK, to make unremitting efforts to deepen the mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of our two countries and bring China-UK relations onto the track of steady development.

Congratulations again, and thank you.