ISTANBUL 

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will embark on his first official visit to China on Friday, according to China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

The two-day visit will include high-level talks in Beijing with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Lammy’s trip marks the first time he will engage in direct diplomatic discussions with Chinese officials since taking office after the Labour Party’s victory in the UK elections in July.

The visit follows recent large-scale Chinese military drills around Taiwan, which drew strong reactions from Western nations, including the UK and US.

In August, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer held his first phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, expressing the UK’s hope for "open, frank, and honest" discussions on areas of disagreement between the two countries. The conversation marked the first contact between a British prime minister and the Chinese president since Xi last spoke with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in March 2022.