reign Minister calls for greater synergy between UK-China

China and the United Kingdom "have every reason to become good partners of cooperation" in terms of building a new type of international relations, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told China Daily in an interview, ahead of President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the UK.

President Xi will pay a five-day state visit to the UK from Monday at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II, and it will be the second visit by a Chinese president for a decade.

According to Wang, the visit will mark a new decade of the China-UK comprehensive strategic partnership, which was established in 2004.

It will enable the two countries to "take fresh steps in building a new type of state-to-state relations featuring win-win cooperation", Wang said.

He also called for more efforts from both sides to strengthen practical cooperation in areas such as innovation-driven growth and manufacturing capacity.

China has put forward the initiative of building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and is working on the 13th five-year plan for economic and social development.

On the part of the UK, it plans to create a Northern Powerhouse and has put forward a roadmap for developing the manufacturing sector between now and 2050.

"Our two sides should form greater synergy between our respective strategies ... so as to deliver more benefits to our peoples," the foreign minister said.

The UK is now China's second largest trading partner and top investment destination, while China is the UK's second largest trading partner outside the EU and a major investment destination in Asia.

The two-way trade volume between the two countries was $80.87 billion last year.

On security issues, Wang appreciated the two countries' close communication on counter-terrorism, peacekeeping operations and cyber security.

China stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with the UK on international and regional issues and work with the UK to promote world peace and stability, he said.

The foreign minister also said that the two countries should be good partners of mutual learning, as both are major civilizations with splendid culture.

Every year, over one million Chinese and Britons travel between the two countries, and 51 pairs of cities in the two countries have forged sister relations between them.

China will deepen cultural exchanges with the UK and expand cooperation in tourism, and between local areas, the youth and women to strengthen people-to-people friendship, Wang said.