British Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper
| Photo Credit:
VLADISLAV CULIOMZA
British foreign minister
Yvette Cooper will travel to China on Monday, and then onwards
to India later in the week, with the visits to focus on global
issues from the Strait of Hormuz and the Russia-Ukraine war to
the recent Ebola outbreak.
Cooper will meet her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and Chinese
Vice President Han Zheng on June 2, before travelling to the
southern tech hub of Shenzhen for a programme focussed on
science and technology a day later, the government said.
The plans, announced on Sunday, come after Reuters reported
last month on the visit, citing three sources.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chinese leader Xi Jinping
hailed a reset in ties during the British leader’s visit to
China in January, pledging greater cooperation on trade,
investment and technology to the mutual benefit of both
countries.
TRIP TO FOCUS ON TACKLING GLOBAL CHALLENGES
Starmer, who is battling some of the worst popularity
ratings of any leader at home, was the first British prime
minister to visit China in eight years, with his centre-left
Labour government making improving relations with China a
priority.
Cooper’s travel to China and India – the world’s
second-largest and sixth-largest economies – comes at a time of
heightened geopolitical tensions, soaring oil prices following
the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, and as Britain struggles with
sluggish economic growth.
She is expected to be in India on June 4 where she is due to
meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar as well as
entrepreneurs, academics and government partners who are
delivering on the UK-India Vision 2035 initiative.
The two countries signed a free trade deal last year that
was aimed at boosting bilateral trade and improving market
access across sectors. But India’s trade secretary Rajesh
Agrawal said last month that its implementation had hit a hurdle
over London’s new steel import curbs.
The British government said Cooper’s upcoming engagements
“with these two major powers are expected to be focused on
tackling the most significant global challenges”.
Published on May 31, 2026
