LONDON, England: As relations between London and Beijing remain strained, the UK has rejected a statement from China affirming its support for Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted that the UK “completely” rejected “any questions over sovereignty of the Falklands.”
“The Falklands are part of the British family and we will defend their right to self determination. China must respect the Falklands’ sovereignty,” she added.
While meeting during the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez issued a joint statement stressing China “reaffirms its support for Argentina’s demand for the full exercise of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands,” the Argentine name for the islands.
The UK’s relations with China have been strained on multiple fronts, including its participation in a U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics to protest China’s human rights record.
Referring to China’s claim to the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, the joint statement also said Argentina “reaffirms its adherence to the one-China principle.”
Xi and Fernandez also pledged closer economic cooperation and signed a memorandum of understanding on Argentina joining the “Belt and Road Initiative,” Xi’s signature project to establish Chinese infrastructure throughout the world.
During his visit, Fernandez also laid a wreath at the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, where the embalmed body of Mao Zedong lies in state.
