China-Britain relations: Xi lauds Queen Elizabeth on Platinum Jubilee while seeking closer ties with UK

China’s president sent a message to mark the 70th year of the British monarch’s reign, noting she had long cared about the friendship between their nations
It comes as Xi Jinping met the Argentinian president at the weekend and announced support for that country’s full sovereignty over the Falkland Islands

China-UK relations

Amber Wangin Beijing

Published: 9:00pm, 7 Feb 2022

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Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Queen Elizabeth on her Platinum Jubilee on Sunday, while also calling for closer bilateral ties in the face of global challenges.

In his message, Xi said the queen had long cared about and supported friendship between the two countries and was as a witness and promoter of development of bilateral ties.

Queen Elizabeth is the longest-serving British monarch and on Sunday Britain celebrated the 70th anniversary of her rule.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth at Sandringham House on Sunday to mark the start of her Platinum Jubilee Year. Photo: Buckingham Palace via AP

In his message Xi called for China and Britain to take the opportunity this year, on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level, “to deepen friendship and mutual trust, expand exchanges and cooperation and work together to promote international solidarity”.

Xi said the two countries could make new contributions to help the international community tackle global challenges and promote world peace, stability, prosperity and development.

The message came a day after China voiced support for Argentina’s territorial claims over the British-run Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas in Argentina. A joint statement following a meeting between Xi and visiting Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez on Sunday said China supported Argentina’s demand for “the full exercise of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands”.

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London reacted with fury, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss saying “we completely reject any questions over sovereignty of the Falklands” and calling on China to respect the Falklands’ sovereignty.

The pursuit of closer ties with London came soon after Beijing and Moscow hailed their “unprecedented” close ties and moved a step closer to forming a quasi-alliance amid rising tensions with the West.

Without directly naming the United States during a face-to-face meeting between Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday, the two countries said some nations continued to push a unilateral approach and interference in the internal affairs of others.

And without referring to Ukraine, Russia and China said they opposed the expansion of Nato, a key Russian concern in the crisis with Ukraine, where the US estimates 110,000 Russian troops have massed near its border, raising fears of an invasion.

Britain joined the United States, Canada and Australia in a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, and its participation in the trilateral security pact with Australia and the US, the so-called Aukus deal, has angered China.

The joint Xi-Putin statement said China and Russia were concerned that the formation of Aukus would increase the risk of an arms race in the region.

Relations between Beijing and London – once hailed as China’s “best friend” in the West – have worsened in recent years over issues including Hong Kong and alleged human rights abuses against China’s Uygur ethnic group.

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However, despite the political tensions, China overtook Germany last year to become Britain’s biggest single source of imports for the first time and in December the two agreed to resume an annual bilateral economic engagement mechanism that had been suspended for two years.

A Blue Book on UK Development released by several institutes, including the Centre for British Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, last month said that although Sino-British relations had encountered new challenges, their economic ties were not largely affected and the two maintained space to cooperate, such as on climate change.