China and Britain should take a “long-term and strategic view” of their relations and intensify dialogue and cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a phone call on Friday afternoon, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The phone call, made at Starmer’s request, is the first between Xi and a British prime minister since March 2022, when the president spoke with then-head of state Boris Johnson.

“China is willing to conduct a dialogue on equal terms with the British side on the basis of mutual respect, understanding and trust … to make mutual benefit and mutually beneficial cooperation the main cornerstones of Sino-British relations,” Xi was quoted as saying.

Xi said China attaches great importance to Britain’s desire to enhance engagement and dialogue and is willing to maintain exchanges with the British side at all levels to promote stable and far-reaching China-Britain relations.

He said the two countries could expand cooperation in finance, green economy, artificial intelligence and people-to-people exchanges.

According to the Chinese statement, Starmer congratulated Xi Jinping on China’s success at the Paris Olympics and said that developing closer cooperation between Britain and China was in the long-term interests of both countries. He also stressed that Britain’s commitment to the one-China policy had not changed.

According to the Chinese report, he also expressed hope for closer cooperation between the two countries in the areas of economy, trade, finance, education, clean energy, medicine and health, as well as joint efforts to tackle global challenges such as climate change.

Last month, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, China’s second-highest ranking politician under Xi Jinping, congratulated Starmer on his election as British prime minister.

According to state news agency Xinhua, Li said in his congratulatory letter to Starmer that the Chinese government “attaches great importance to its relations with Britain” and is willing to work with his government to consolidate mutual political trust and expand mutually beneficial cooperation.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is reportedly considering a visit to China, with Catherine West, currently Minister for the Indo-Pacific, doing the groundwork.

West traveled to Beijing in March as part of a parliamentary delegation and met with China’s fourth-highest official, Wang Huning, one of Xi’s closest advisers, and Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li.

Starmer’s Labour government is expected to announce its review of the UK’s China strategy within its first 100 days in office, but there is no commitment to produce a “China strategy” document.

China, which is already in conflict with the US military in the Western Pacific, is closely watching the possible deployment of the British carrier battle group in the Indo-Pacific in 2025. This plan was announced in December 2023 by former British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps.

Asked whether British military ships had the right to transit the Taiwan Strait, Shapps said freedom of navigation was recognized worldwide and included the Taiwan Strait, but pointed out that the exact route of the carrier battle group had not yet been finalized.