China, Britain to have brighter future ties

LONDON - China and Britain will enjoy a brighter future in their ties as long as the two sides join hands to cooperate based on the spirit of pioneering, innovation, mutual benefit and win-win, said Liu Xiaomin, China's ambassador to Britain.

China and Britain agreed to establish ambassadorial-level ties 40 years ago. Since then, the two countries have enjoyed continuous development of bilateral ties which are reaching a mature, healthy, stable stage, Liu said in an interview with Xinhua here on Monday.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China-Britain full diplomatic relations and it will serve another start for China-Britain ties, Liu said.

This year also will see the British Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympic Games, he said.

In the year, a high level cultural and educational exchange mechanism between China and Britain will be initiated. China will be the Guest of Honor country at London Book Fair, while Britain will hold a major art festival "UK Now" in China, the ambassador said.

"The world is diversified, with each country having its own national conditions and ways of development. Both China and Britain should keep an open and tolerant mind, respect each other's ways of development and learn from each other," the ambassador said.

He stressed "There is absolutely no zero-sum game between China and Britain. The two sides should look at each other's development and strength positively, adapt to each other, and trust each other."

"As China is implementing its 12th five-year plan and Britain unveils its growth stimulus plans, new opportunities for economic cooperation between the two countries are emerging," Liu said.

Britain's technology and management experience in the field of high-tech, financial service, low-carbon economy, medical treatment and public health could help China in its development, while China's broad market and abundant human resources could help boost Britain's economic growth.

The ambassador said the two countries have their respective strength and potential to further cooperate in building infrastructure, high-end manufacturing, alternative energy and environmental protection to bring real benefit to their peoples.

Talking about bilateral collaboration in global issues, Liu said China and Britain should "join hands and face challenges together, as more and more global issues and non-traditional security threat made it impossible for a single country to deal with."

"Both as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and Britain share important responsibility in protecting the world's peace and promoting prosperity, as well as common interests. Thus we should focus on the big picture, and strengthen bilateral and multilateral communication and collaboration," Liu said.