China, UK should rise above disagreements, broaden cooperation: Xi tells Burnham

China and the UK should “rise above disagreements” and “broaden” the cooperation agenda, Chinese President Xi Jinping told new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham during their first phone call on Tuesday.

After congratulating Burnham on his election, Xi said China and the UK “enjoy a comprehensive strategic partnership.”

“Despite having different social systems and national conditions, China and the UK have more common interests than disagreements,” said Xi, according to China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

“The two sides should respect and trust each other, rise above disagreements, find common ground, and broaden the agenda of mutually beneficial cooperation,” said the Chinese president, who hosted Burnham’s predecessor Keir Starmer, who had described bilateral ties as “vital,” in Beijing earlier this year.

Starmer's visit was the first by a British prime minister to China since 2018, and Burnham succeeded Starmer in July this year.

The UK was the “first major Western country to recognize” Beijing in 1950, and the two sides upgraded ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in May 2004, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

With annual bilateral trade reaching £134.7 billion ($182 billion) last year, the two sides also instituted high-level dialogue mechanisms, including the Annual Prime Minister’s Meeting, Economic and Financial Dialogue, Strategic Dialogue, and High-Level People-to-People Dialogue.