Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on May 8 called on China and Britain to promote bilateral relationship after calibrating its right direction in the new situation.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks in a phone conversation with Tim Barrow, Britain's national security adviser, at the latter's request.

Stressing that China attaches great importance to its relationship with Britain, Wang said that China has taken note of recent remarks from the British side, which expressed willingness to maintain open, constructive, and stable relations with China, and rejected the idea of a "new Cold War" or isolating China.

These remarks showed that the British side is willing to objectively view China's development, he said.

Wang said he hopes that China and Britain can meet each other halfway, maintain the momentum of bilateral exchanges, wipe out distractions, focus on cooperation, and properly handle differences.

China is the only major country among the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that has not achieved complete reunification, Wang noted.

It is both a historical fact and a global consensus that Taiwan is part of China, he said, adding that achieving peaceful reunification is a long-cherished wish of both the 1.4 billion Chinese people and all the Chinese descendants across the world.

It is hoped that the British side will continue to abide by the one-China principle, respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, adhere to the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and respect each other's core interests and major concerns, he said.

For his part, Barrow said that both Britain and China are permanent members of the UNSC and major countries with global influence.

The British side continues to pursue the one-China policy and is willing to work with China to maintain communication and exchanges, deepen cooperation, promote the establishment of a stable, healthy and mature bilateral relationship, and jointly address global challenges, he said.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. Wang reiterated China's stance of facilitating talks for peace and hoped that all parties would avoid actions that could further escalate the situation.