Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday called on the British business community to make greater contributions to China-Britain friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Li made the appeal in a congratulatory message to the "Icebreakers" 2023 Chinese New Year celebration hosted by the 48 Group Club, a London-based trade organization named after a British trade delegation of 48 businessmen who traveled to China in the early 1950s to establish trading relations between the two countries.

In the message, he said that 70 years ago, visionary people in the British business community broke the ice with great courage and opened the door to China-Britain trade.

At present, the international and regional situations are undergoing complex and profound changes, and geopolitics, world economy, climate change, food and energy security, and other fields are facing severe risks and challenges, Li said.

He said when difficulties arise, it is all the more important to carry on the "icebreaking" spirit, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with a pioneering attitude, properly handle contradictions and differences, improve people's well-being and achieve mutually beneficial and win-win results.

Li said China unswervingly adheres to the path of peaceful development, upholds the basic state policy of reform and opening-up, and stands ready to work with all parties to safeguard world peace and promote development and prosperity.

Both China and Britain are permanent members of the UN Security Council and major economies in the world and maintaining a sound and stable bilateral relationship is in the interests of both sides and the world, he said.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: People dine at a restaurant in Chinatown in London, Britain, January 20, 2023. /Xinhua)