Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Vince Henderson, foreign minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, on Saturday in Shanghai.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, welcomed Henderson, who is in China to attend the World Artificial Intelligence Conference.
Wang said China stands ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation within the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization with developing countries including Dominica, and foster steady and robust growth of the organization.
Guided by the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, China stands ready to work together with Dominica to strengthen alignment of development strategies and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, Wang said. Dominica supports China in closely cooperating with the United Nations to promote artificial intelligence as a fair and inclusive international public good, Henderson said, adding that Dominica is ready to deepen cooperation with China across all sectors.
China's top diplomat meets foreign minister of Dominica
China supports enterprises in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests through legal means, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, adding that China is closely following the developments after the UK nationalized British Steel and will do what is necessary to protect its rights.
The spokesperson made the remarks on Saturday when asked to comment on the UK's move to nationalize British Steel.
According to reports, the UK government announced on Thursday that it had nationalized British Steel in accordance with the Steel Industry (Nationalization) Act, taking over the enterprise previously controlled by China's Jingye Group, and will establish a compensation mechanism through secondary legislation, with an independent assessment to determine whether compensation is needed. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that this decision safeguards the future of the UK's steel industry and protects skilled jobs.
"Let me stress that this matter has drawn close attention from the Chinese public," the spokesperson said, noting that how the UK handles this matter will directly influence how Chinese investors view the investment environment in the UK and its government's credibility.
The spokesperson said that China and the UK have signed an agreement concerning the protection of investments, and the legitimate rights and interests of investors must be fully protected in accordance with the law.
"China urges the UK to earnestly respect market principles and the spirit of contract, and find solutions on compensation and other issues acceptable to both sides," the spokesperson added.
On Friday, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said China firmly opposes and expresses strong dissatisfaction over the UK government's decision to nationalize British Steel.
China to do what is necessary to protect its rights after UK nationalizes British Steel: spokesperson
