Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has vowed to persist in raising the case of imprisoned British citizen Jimmy Lai with the Chinese government, amid opposition demands for his release. During a two-day visit to China, Cooper emphasised the establishment of a 'really important' working relationship between the UK and China after years of strained ties. However, she faced pressure to adopt a tougher stance on national security and human rights concerns, including the detention of pro-democracy campaigner Lai.
Cooper's Response on Jimmy Lai
When questioned by reporters about whether she had insisted on Lai's release and how firmly she pressed his case in talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Cooper stated: 'I have raised this and will continue to raise Jimmy Lai because this is a very important case to us. Our case remains we want to see his release as soon as possible, he’s a very elderly man. And I will be talking to his family and will continue to talk to his family.'
Pressure on Human Rights Issues
The government of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also faced calls to challenge Beijing more forcefully over reported human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang province. Cooper confirmed she had raised this issue, saying: 'Yes, and I’ve raised freedom of religion as well.'
The UK Government views engagement with the world's second-largest economy as crucial for protecting Britain's security amid heightened global volatility, but insists it will challenge Beijing where necessary. Meeting Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng for talks on global security in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Tuesday, Cooper noted that the 'international rules-based order' is in the shared interest of both London and Beijing. When asked if she believed China respects that order, she replied: 'China is a member of the P5, the permanent five members of the UN Security Council, and we have to engage on these global security issues with China. We’ve talked about the importance of the rules-based international order – so too has China.'
Shared Interests and AI Discussions
Cooper highlighted several areas of shared interest, including freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz amid Iran's ongoing disruptions to shipping lanes. After a day of bilateral talks in Beijing, she flew to Shenzhen, a major technology hub, where she met city party secretary Jin Lei and toured a laboratory of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society. There, she observed how AI technology is being applied in healthcare and power grids.
Cooper said she raised safety issues surrounding AI in her discussions with both Wang Yi and Han Zheng, advocating for global standards to safeguard the technology's development, involving the United Nations. Following the talks, she stated: 'What I want to see is global standards on AI security and safety involving the United Nations. I think this reflects the approach we’ve taken over very many years on nuclear security, where we have international nuclear standards. Nuclear standards is an area where historically we worked with China as well as with other countries on standards. We had differences of view, but also did have co-operation on those areas as well.'
Next Stop: India
Cooper travelled from Shenzhen to Delhi, India, on Wednesday evening ahead of talks on global security, including escalation around Hormuz amid the Iran war, with figures including her Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday.
