The 9th China-UK Strategic Dialogue kicked off in Beijing on Monday. It's where Chinese and British leaders reaffirmed their willingness to protect free trade and multilateralism while strengthening their "golden era" of relations. Our reporter Zou Yun has the story. 

It's Jeremy Hunt's first visit to China as the UK's foreign secretary. Just weeks into his new job, the trip shows the UK highly values its relationship with China. Following the meeting, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to create synergies between the two nations' development strategies. He also hopes to expand trade and investment with the UK, prioritizing areas like nuclear power, finance and innovation. Wang says both sides have reached a consensus in safeguarding multilateralism and maintaining the WTO's free trade rules. He also responded to recent trade friction between China and the US.

WANG YI CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER "The US practice of instigating trade disputes with China is neither legitimate nor justifiable. Both the US and China are WTO members. Therefore, friction should be resolved within the WTO framework. But the US bypassed the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO, and handled this issue with its own domestic laws. This is typical unilateralism and economic hegemony. And it's unacceptable to any sovereign nation."

Both China and the UK also agreed to enhance and expedite cooperation on jointly building the Belt and Road. China looks forward to the UK's more ambitious participation in the Initiative. Secretary Hunt said they discussed some of the international concerns raised about the projects adhering to international standards, and looks forward to more work and cooperation with China.

JEREMY HUNT BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY "We offer to work with China to help to assuage some of those concerns. And we pointed out that the UK, as the second biggest spender on development assistance in the world, has got a lot of experience of infrastructure projects, financing of infrastructure projects and some of the pitfalls of these infrastructure projects."

China also offered to open discussions about a possible UK-China free trade deal once the UK separates from the European Union.

ZOU YUN BEIJING "Given the rising trend of anti-globalization, it is of vital importance for both China and the UK to make joint efforts in upholding rules-based international order, as well as solving regional issues. All of these will help to pave the way for better bilateral relations entering a new chapter of the golden era. ZY, CGTN, BJ."