British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab offered to visit Beijing to seek cooperation on Hong Kong
- Speaking at an event held by the Conservative Friends of the Chinese lobby group, Raab says his proposal to meet counterpart Wang Yi has not been accepted
- The foreign secretary also commented on ‘very worrying’ reports of human rights abuses against Uygurs in Xinjiang
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says he has offered to go to Beijing to find a way to cooperate over Hong Kong, but his proposition has so far not been accepted by China.
Speaking on a video call on Friday organised by the powerful Conservative Friends of the Chinese lobby group to celebrate the Lunar New Year, Raab said he still believed dialogue was the best way out of the impasse.
“I’ve offered to go to Beijing” he said. “I’ve offered to speak to my colleague Wang Yi, foreign minister.”
Relations between London and Beijing have rapidly deteriorated over the past year due to the introduction of the National Security Law in Hong Kong and London’s subsequent offer of a citizenship pathway to thousands of Hong Kong BN(O) passport holders. However, Britain continues to want to trade with China, one of its largest direct investors with much of the business taking place in Hong Kong.
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“For me it’s not more difficult to talk when we have a challenge. That’s the time the foreign secretary must engage in dialogue. We will always have the door of diplomacy open and will always look for the positives,” Raab said.