Britain’s top diplomat visits China for the first time in 5 years, hoping to stabilize ties

Britain’s top diplomat, James Cleverly, began a long-awaited visit to China on Wednesday as the two countries attempt to stabilize bilateral ties that have frayed badly in recent years. The trip is the first by a United Kingdom foreign secretary to China in more than five years, underscoring the downturn in relations over Beijing’s curbing of civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony, abuses against Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region, China’s support for Russia and Britain’s close security ties with the United States.