China, Britain agree to promote global free trade

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with his British counterpart Boris Johnson during the Group of Twenty (G20) foreign ministerial meeting in Bonn,Germany, Feb. 16, 2017. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)

BONN, Germany, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- China and Britain agreed to safeguard global free trade mechanism and promote free trade as foreign ministers of the two nations met on Thursday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his British counterpart Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G20) foreign ministerial meeting held in Germany's western city of Bonn.

Wang said Chinese President Xi Jinping held the first meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May last year on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou, during which the two leaders reaffirmed the "Golden Era" of bilateral relations between China and Britain.

As 2017 marked the 45th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-British ambassadorial level diplomatic relation, China is willing to work with Britain to review the past experience and map out future plans, Wang said.

Through close high-level exchanges, both nations look to guide the general direction of the "Golden Era" and enrich the content of the "Golden Era", so as to lift the "global comprehensive strategic partnership for the 21st century" between the two countries to a higher level, he said.

Wang said China, together with Britain, will respect each other' s core interests and major concerns, promote flagship cooperation including the nuclear power station projects at Hinkley Point.

The two countries will also join hands in maintaining global free trade and build an open world economy, said Wang.

Johnson said the two countries share many common interests and should maintain the good momentum of bilateral relations and expand British-Sino cooperation in an innovative way.

Britain will strengthen strategic cooperation with China on international affairs, promote bilateral and global free trade, and make the world more stable and prosperous, he said.

Johnson reiterated that Britain will stick to the one-China policy and support the principle of "One country, Two systems" in Hong Kong.