Caution the key word as Britain takes steps to improve relations with China

London, while keen to boost trade with Chinese, is mindful of its MPs' scrutiny

- Jonathan Eyal

LONDON - Britain's new Labour government is acting to improve relations with China, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy's just concluded trip to China dubbed a move to "restart dialogue", and hopes have been revived for China to gain permission to build a new embassy in London.

Mr Lammy was only the second top British diplomat to visit China in six years, and the trip came just three months after the centre-left government assumed office.

In another conciliatory signal to Beijing, Britain's Housing Minister Angela Rayner announced that she would take personal charge of a long-running row over the construction of a new Chinese embassy building in London. The implication is that the project, mired in years of political controversy, may finally go ahead.

The authorities in Beijing welcome these developments. Yet the Chinese and the British remain very cautious about how much progress can be achieved in their bilateral relations.

A communique issued by the Chinese government on Oct 19, after Mr Lammy's Beijing visit, stated that China stood "ready to work with the UK" on what it referred to as a "pragmatic cooperation" – hardly the most enthusiastic endorsement.

Mr Lammy was equally guarded, describing the latest contacts with China as "the beginning of a process" and a move to "restart dialogue".

One reason for the mutual caution is that ties have been on a particularly unsettling roller coaster over the past decade.

Former prime minister David Cameron's government, which came to power in 2010, heralded a "Golden Age" in ties with China. Britain stunned its Western allies by awarding the construction of a new nuclear power plant to a Chinese company in 2015. In just a few years, the British also hosted two state visits by Chinese President Xi Jinping, in 2013 and 2015.