UK junior trade minister visits Taiwan

LONDON (Reuters) -British junior trade minister Douglas Alexander is visiting Taiwan for talks on Sunday, the UK government said, on a trip that is aimed at boosting trade with Taipei but is likely to anger China.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and strongly objects to any official interactions between the island and foreign governments, believing them to represent support for Taiwan's desire to be recognised as an independent country.

Britain only has formal diplomatic relations with Beijing, but maintains a de facto embassy in Taipei. Junior British ministers hold talks with their Taiwanese counterparts but by convention senior ministers do not meet Taiwanese officials.

Alexander's trip comes at a time when Britain and China are looking to mend ties, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to visit Beijing this year on the first trip by a British leader since 2018.

But despite those efforts, tensions remain. Last week, China's military criticised the sailing of a British warship through the Taiwan Strait as a deliberate attempt to "cause trouble".

Alexander will be in Taiwan for annual trade talks on June 29-30, the Department for Business and Trade said. He will witness the signing of UK-Taiwan trade partnership pillars, and meet President Lai Ching-te as part of Britain's "long-standing unofficial relationship" with Taiwan, it said.

"We share a long-standing trade relationship with Taiwan and our trade reached an all-time high last year, but we know there are still more opportunities for British businesses," Alexander said in a statement.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

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