James Cleverly, the UK’s foreign secretary, will visit China on August 30

James Cleverly, the UK’s foreign secretary, will go to China this week, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

According to Wang Wenbin, a spokeswoman for the ministry, “the two sides will have in-depth communication on China-UK relations and on international and regional issues of shared concern” during the visit on Wednesday.

“It is hoped that the UK side will work alongside China in upholding a spirit of mutual respect, conduct in-depth exchanges, enhance understanding, and promote the stable development of China-UK relations,” the official said.

As large economies and permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and the UK share the duty of advancing global peace, stability, and development.

The unexplained disappearance of Beijing’s now-former foreign minister Qin Gang caused the visit to be postponed from its intended July date.

After Jeremy Hunt’s trip to China in 2018, Cleverly will make history as the first British foreign secretary to visit the country in more than five years.

Since then, a variety of issues—including those involving human rights, technology, and Beijing’s crackdown in the once British territory of Hong Kong—have strained ties between the UK and China.

After Cleverly criticized Hong Kong’s plan to pay rewards for information leading to the apprehension of well-known democratic campaigners located abroad, China accused the UK in July of providing refuge to fugitives.

Additionally, a local social media firestorm was sparked on Sunday night when the British Museum was asked to “return Chinese cultural relics for free” by the state-backed nationalist newspaper Global Times.

Hawkish Conservative Party members in Britain have encouraged London to be more aggressive with China.

However, Cleverly has advocated for a realistic, unified, and constructive Western response to China’s growing influence, admitting the need of cooperating with Beijing.