King Charles would ‘carefully’ consider China visit
LONDON, United Kingdom — A British monarch has made only one state visit to China: Queen Elizabeth II’s trip four decades ago. King Charles III would consider making a second visit, according to a palace aide.
“If the government said, ‘Will the king go to China?’ I think, you know, we would think about it very carefully,” a senior palace aide told reporters this week.
The late queen, Charles’ mother, visited China with her husband, Prince Philip, in October 1986.
The trip included stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, according to reports at the time.
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It came two years after the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which set out the terms for the return of Hong Kong and helped improve relations between the two countries.
“This is the 40th anniversary of the last state visit,” the aide said at the end of the king’s nine-day tour of the Caribbean.
Charles’ trip was dominated by the thorny issue of slavery reparations. He called the transatlantic slave trade a “monstrous injustice” as the UK government considers issuing an apology.
“I think what we’re seeing is a very clear pattern emerging of the government asking the king to head into quite politically charged situations, quite challenging situations,” the aide said.
The king, who is politically neutral, “relishes” the “tough parts” of his role and can be a “great secret weapon” for the government, the aide added.
“Whether that’s leading on the environment, whether it’s renewing and refreshing and reinvigorating relationships with nations where there have been some complex political issues at play, that is what he lives and breathes for,” the aide said.
Charles, who is nearly 78 and continues to receive treatment for an undisclosed cancer, was widely praised for his state visit to the United States and his deft handling of US President Donald Trump earlier this year.
Relations between London and Beijing have been strained for years, fueled in part by tensions over the political situation in the former British colony of Hong Kong, criticism of Beijing’s human rights record and allegations of spying.
But UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is now pursuing the same policy of cautious rapprochement begun by his predecessor, Keir Starmer, who visited Beijing in January.
“China is a hugely important country. It’s a very complex country. It would pose, you know, a lot of complexity in putting a program together,” Charles’ aide said.
As prince of Wales, Charles oversaw Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule as Britain’s most senior representative at the 1997 handover, alongside China’s then-president, Jiang Zemin.
Asked whether Burnham would ask the king to visit China, his spokesman told AFP that questions about the monarch’s travel were “one for the palace.” /mcm
