British troops first visit Beijing for 10 years

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For the first time in ten years, the head of the British troops visited Beijing, a visit, announced only by the Chinese government.

General Liu Zhengli, Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff of the Central Military Commission of China, met with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of Staff of the UK, Beijing on Wednesday, a statement by the Chinese Defense Ministry said.

“Both sides were conducted by in-depth exchanges on the relations between China and the UK and military relations, international and regional situations and issues that raise general concern, and communicated to strengthen the exchanges and cooperation between two milliers,” China said.

The UK Defense Ministry (MOD) did not announce a visit and refused to comment on Thursday, in addition to confirming what happened.

The last time the British troops visited China, when General Sir Nicholas Hauton made a trip during the so-called “Golden Age” of Anglo-Chinese relations under the UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

While bilateral relations have become increasingly frosty in accordance with later administrations under the leadership of conservatives, Prime Minister Sir Kire St. Strmer has interacted an interaction with Beijing since he won power in July.

Britain’s Chancellor Rachel Rivz and Foreign Minister David Lami has visited China in recent months, and Starmer is expected to visit this year.

However, some fashion figures privately questioned the wisdom of Radakin’s visit during the week when the US and China trade war has intensified, and while Britain is seeking to reduce to 10 percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on UK.

UK representatives said the trip had been planned for several months and had in no way linked to the US.

Matthew Savil, Director of the Military Sciences at the Royal Institute of the United Services, Analytical Protection and Security, said the wide planning and long running such a trip would have created a dilemma for the UK government under the circumstances.

“They would have a difficult solution:” Do we abolish it or not? “It seems that they have failed to do this at the communication front,” he said.

It was a “bad” result that only the Chinese Defense Ministry announced a high -level visit, Savil added, noting that the UK officials may have viewed it as a “compromise” to continue the trip but not publish it at the British end.

A few weeks later, a visit ahead of the Wales Royal Fleet Air Force, which sailed in the carriers group, a few weeks in the eight-month swimming to the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific region.

Twelve other countries, including Norway, Canada and Spain, support a multinational deployment under the leadership of the UK, which, according to fashion, emphasized the “UK leadership in search of stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Fashion said the air carrier would perform exercises with Japanese servicemen in addition to joining 19-inch exercises near Australia.

However, the UK government has not confirmed whether the South -China Sea group will swim in the South -China Sea in the freedom of navigation exercises, against the background of Beijing’s concern in the area.

Savil said Radakin’s trip to Beijing was probably attracted at least in part “to make sure that no misunderstandings” took Chinese military personnel about the British team “Strike Group”.

Britain’s representatives said in the UK’s interests in Britain to support a reliable military communication with China. They added that the government was firmly talking about the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as avoiding the use of military pressure to achieve political goals.