Premier Li Keqiang held a welcoming ceremony and met with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the Great Hall of People in Beijing on Wednesday. Prime Minister May is on an official visit to China from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2. The two sides agreed to achieve new developments in the China-UK global comprehensive strategic partnership for the 21st century and upgrade the “golden era” for bilateral ties. 

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit marks the first annual China-UK Prime Ministers' meeting following President Xi Jinping's historic state visit to the UK in 2015. Over the past two years, President Xi and Prime Minister May had meetings at the G20 Summits in Hangzhou and Hamburg. It is Prime Minister May's first official visit to China after she took the office, and the first by a British prime minister in four years.

Prime Minister Theresa May is accompanied by her husband Philip and the leaders of 50 British businesses and commercial organizations. 

After the welcoming ceremony, Premier Li Keqiang and British Prime Minister Theresa May had in-depth discussions on a wide range of  international and regional issues, including the Korean Peninsula situation, climate change, bilateral trade, investment, and global economic governance. As permanent members of the UN Security Council and important members of the G20, both China and the UK agreed to strengthen cooperation in ways that will be beneficial not only for the two countries, but also for world peace and development.

The two sides agreed to take mutually beneficial cooperation to a new level across various sectors under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. Premier Li and Theresa May also witnessed the signing of agreements covering areas such as economy and trade, financial services, scientific innovation, environmental protection, education, clean energy and bio-science.

Premier Li said this year marks the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up, in the report to the 19th CPC National Congress, China said it will continue to open its market. During a press conference after their talks, Premier Li Keqiang answered a question raised by CGTN, and talked about the efforts that China and the UK will make in boosting economic globalization and fighting against protectionism. 

"Our relationship will not change because of changes in Britain-Europe ties," Li said. But he acknowledged there would need to be an adaptation."While we must adapt to these changes, we will assess and talk about future bilateral trade and investment arrangements, to continue to push forward China-Britain relations, including trade and business ties."

While answering another question raised by CGTN, Theresa May elaborated her views on how China-UK relations will develop in the post-Brexit era.

May says she was committed to deepening the relationship in light of Brexit and would explore all options in future trade ties.

"We are determined to deepen our trading relationship even further and we are ambitious for what our future trade relationship will be," she said.

May said the two countries would agree on more than nine billion pounds worth of deals during her visit, and that China had agreed to lift a ban on British beef exports within the next six months.

"We have also agreed to open up the Chinese market to enable our great UK financial services expertise to reach more Chinese consumers."