Editor's note: Freddie Reidy, a special commentator for CGTN, is a freelance writer based in London. He studied history and history of art at the University of Kent, Canterbury, specializing in Russian history and international politics. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

United Kingdom Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was in Beijing on August 30 this week for bilateral talks with his counterpart Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng. The trip did draw criticism from certain corners of the UK political establishment but Cleverly insisted that a "pragmatic" relationship was necessary to tackle major global issues. So what can we deduce London's position on future relations with China?

One of the most pressing reasons for Foreign Secretary Cleverly to accept Wang's invitation is that no senior-ranking UK official had visited China since the emergence of COVID-19. Aside from the reduced in-person interaction, this interregnum made UK politicians outline their views on the future of Anglo-Sino relations.

An unofficial visit to China's Taiwan region by former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss in May was said to have caused frustration within the Foreign Office as Truss' demand that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak categorize China as a "threat" to UK Security.

Ahead of his meeting, Cleverly directly addressed Truss' demand. "Give me one example of any other country in the world where we define our relationship in a single word or a catchphrase. We don't do it." However, it is not just the words of Truss that the foreign secretary feels he must distance the government from but also several China hawks on the cross-party parliamentary Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

In a report published on the same day of the bilateral meeting in Beijing, the committee published a report on UK interests in the "Indo-Pacific" region that defined China's Taiwan region as "an independent country" in stark contrast to the Foreign Office's declaration at the time of the Truss visit that "we have no diplomatic ties with Taiwan."

If reestablishing control over the narrative of relations between London and Beijing at a government level was a clear objective, what are Cleverly's other goals?

At the time of Truss' visit, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns – a staunch China hawk herself, stated that the visit by the former prime minister was "performative than substantive."

Indeed, since former U.S. President Donald Trump took office in 2016, relations between China and the United States have become strained and this also spread to some of the U.S.'s allies. Part of this attitudinal change can be attributed to an apparent preference for market protectionism over the natural competition of a market economy, a narrative that has played well with populist governments, attributing market weakness to external forces, namely the emergence of China as the world's second-largest economy. A conflation of a multitude of different policy differences then emerges and dialogue deteriorates to the extent that it is even questioned as a concept.

When challenged on this point in relation to the United Kingdom's relations with China, Cleverly was blunt. "As two countries that have a global outlook, that trade widely across the world, and whose future prosperity is dependent upon peace and dialogue, it is important for us to maintain these channels of communication."

For other hawks within the British political establishment, such as former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, the visit is "a spreadsheet kind of calculation" and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Duncan Smith caustically adds, "is a spreadsheet kind of guy."

Such an analysis of political discourse though fails to appreciate the standing that China holds in the world and the depth and cooperation between the United Kingdom and China on a vast number of issues. For the foreign secretary, an additional goal of the visit was to overcome the prevailing disengagement narrative and seek to forge and enhance areas of common endeavor such as climate change, ecological conservation, and the energy transition among other economic areas of cooperation.

After meeting with Han Zheng early on Wednesday morning, Cleverly clearly stated that "it's important to also recognize that we have to have a pragmatic, sensible working relationship with China because of the issues that affect us all around the globe."

With a polarization challenged by open dialogue, the physical barriers enforced by a global pandemic removed and a renewed spirit of cooperation articulated, is now a golden opportunity for both nations to strengthen the common bonds of bilateral friendship and cooperation?

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