UK Minister Tackles Rights Issues With China

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has held a series of meetings with Chinese officials in Beijing, including talks with Vice President Han Zheng in the Great Hall of the People, as reported by Paul Godfrey for United Press International (UPI).

The talks are the most senior bilateral exchange in five years. I Photo: James Cleverly X

The talks -- the most senior bilateral exchange in five years -- sought to re-establish important lines of communication and address a lack of face-to-face engagement that could lead to "more opportunities for perhaps misinterpretations, mistrust, and errors," Cleverly said after meeting Han.

Cleverly also told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that he had raised human rights concerns at "every single one" of his meetings with top Chinese officials.

The first UK foreign minister to visit China in five years, Cleverly also held talks with Wang Yi, his Chinese counterpart, and tackled China's crackdown on freedoms in the former British colony of Hong Kong as well as Beijing's alleged rights abuses in the Xinjiang and Tibet regions.

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