British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will visit China this week, Beijing and Downing Street said Thursday, marking the first by a senior UK official since the election of Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July.

British foreign secretary David Lammy will visit China on a two-day visit starting on Friday in a bid to improve relations between the two countries after years of tensions over security concerns and alleged human rights abuses.

LONDON (AP) — British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is making his first trip to China in office this week in an attempt to reset the U.K.'s ties with Beijing and seek “pragmatic engagement” despite human rights and other concerns.

Foreign minister David Lammy will arrive in China on Friday seeking to demonstrate Britain's new government is taking a pragmatic and strategic approach to building ties with Beijing, even while acknowledging areas of sharp disagreement.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will visit China this week, Beijing said Thursday, marking the first by a senior UK official since the election of Prime Minister Keir Starmer in

Lammy is expected to focus on trade, but issues such as human rights and security will continue to cast a shadow over the relationship British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is visiting China this week on a trip that is expected to focus on economic ties amid a push by the new Labour government to reset relations.