Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has confirmed she raised the case of imprisoned British tycoon Jimmy Lai during her two-day visit to China, vowing to continue pressing Beijing for his release. Speaking after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Cooper said the case was “very important” to the UK and that she would keep raising it with Chinese officials.
Cooper faced pressure from opposition MPs to take a harder line on human rights issues, including the detention of media tycoon Lai and alleged abuses against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. She said she had also raised freedom of religion in her meetings. The UK government insists it will challenge Beijing where necessary, while maintaining engagement to protect British security.
During her visit, Cooper met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and discussed global security, emphasising the importance of the “rules-based international order”. She noted areas of shared interest, such as freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. In Shenzhen, she toured an AI laboratory and called for global standards on AI safety, drawing parallels with international nuclear standards.
Cooper later travelled to Delhi for talks with Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on global security issues, including tensions around Hormuz.
