Xi congratulated Burnham on becoming prime minister and said China and Britain were comprehensive strategic partners. Although the two countries had different social systems and national conditions, he argued, their shared interests outweighed their disputes, foreign media reported.
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Both sides should respect and trust each other, transcend differences, seek common ground while reserving disagreements, and enlarge the cake of mutually beneficial cooperation.
Xi said both governments were committed to developing their economies and improving livelihoods, and could complement each other’s strengths. During China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period, he added, Beijing would further open education, healthcare and finance to the outside world — areas he described as promising for bilateral work. As major scientific and technological powers with rich educational, cultural and sporting resources, China and Britain should keep an open and forward-looking outlook and deepen exchanges across fields.
He also expressed the hope that Britain would fully protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese investors. As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and major world economies, he said, both countries supported multilateralism and open trade and upheld the UN’s central role. They should strengthen communication and coordination within the United Nations, the Group of 20 and the World Trade Organization, and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and inclusive economic globalisation.
The call, reported as taken at Burnham’s request, comes as the new British leader settles into Downing Street after succeeding a run of short-lived predecessors. Xi’s message mixed congratulations with a clear ask on investor rights and a pitch for wider opening in education, medicine and finance, casting China–Britain ties as a relationship Beijing wants steered toward commerce and multilateral forums rather than unresolved disputes — while leaving London to show how far it will go in meeting those expectations.
