On the evening of January 28, 2026, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met with UK Prime Minister's National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell.

Wang Yi said that Prime Minister Keir Starmer will begin his visit to China, which marks the first official visit by a British prime minister in eight years. As permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, China and the UK bear significant responsibilities for world peace and development. Amid a complex and volatile international landscape, both sides should all the more uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, strengthen dialogue and cooperation, work together to address challenges, and jointly safeguard the international system with the UN at its core. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, immediately upon his arrival in Beijing, stated that this will be a historic visit. A historic visit should yield historic outcomes. Wang Yi expressed the belief that the important common understandings reached between the leaders of both countries on developing a long-term and stable comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the UK will inject strong momentum into the institutional exchanges and cooperation across various fields between the two countries, and open a new chapter in China-UK relations.

Jonathan Powell stated that China is the world's second-largest economy and a major country with significant influence. The UK and China have not had high-level mutual visits for many years, which is not in the interests of the two peoples. The UK side hopes to take Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to China as an opportunity to enhance dialogue and cooperation with China at all levels and in various fields, and to develop a more coherent and comprehensive strategic partnership. He believes that with joint efforts from both sides, the visit will be a complete success.

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern, including the Ukraine crisis.