On June 25, 2003, British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in London.

Blair said that relations between Britain and China have seen sound development as both sides are pushing forward good cooperation in trade, investment, culture, education and other fields as well as in international affairs. Blair said he had a very good talk with Chinese President Hu Jintao during the North-South informal dialogue meeting at Evian, France, earlier this month, adding that he was looking forward to visiting China to boost ties between the two countries.

Blair also congratulated China on its decisive achievements in the struggle against SARS. He said that the whole world should pay attention to non-traditional security issues such as SARS, strengthen cooperation and jointly take on the challenges.

Li said that both Chinese and British peoples benefit from the sound Sino-British relations. China thanks Britain for its aid to China in fighting SARS and appreciates Britain's support for China on the Taiwan question in the World Health Organization. As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, both China and Britain bear the responsibility of safeguarding world peace and promoting global development. China stands ready to strengthen communication and cooperation with Britain on multilateral issues.

On the same day, Li also held talks with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, focusing on Iraq and the DPRK nuclear issue.

Straw spoke highly of China's constructive role on the DPRK nuclear issue and expressed the hope that the issue won’t be dragged on to threaten regional and world peace and stability.

Li said that negotiations on the nuclear issue held in Beijing earlier this year represented a good start for the settlement through dialogue. The road ahead is difficult with twists and turns. At present, the most practical way is to continue the dialogue process initiated by Beijing talks. The international community should keep patience. The prospect of peacefully solving the DPRK nuclear issue still exists.

On the issue of Iraq, Straw said the security situation in Iraq remains serious at present. The British side hopes that reconstruction in Iraq will start at an early date. Efforts should be made to ensure UN's participation in Iraq's post-war reconstruction and the UN resolutions on Iraq should be implemented.

While appreciating Britain's stance that the Iraq issue should be solved through the United Nations, Li said China's legitimate interests in Iraq should be guaranteed. In response, Straw said Britain would do its best in this regard.