Britain is eyeing greater engagement and closer trade ties with China, seeking to steady a relationship long marked by volatility, its ambassador to Beijing said, ahead of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s highly anticipated visit.

Peter Wilson told reporters on Tuesday that Britain was taking a long-term “strategic approach” to China and that London sought “a relationship that is consistent”.

“We want to build the kind of relationship of mutual respect and trust between our leadership that allows us to take this relationship to a new level,” Wilson said when asked how Britain would advance its ties with China.

“Stabilise, put in place structures and then do practical things … It’s a practical, forward-looking approach.”

Beijing’s foreign ministry on Tuesday confirmed that Starmer would pay a four-day visit to China starting Wednesday. It will be the first visit by a British prime minister in eight years.

Wilson said Starmer would be accompanied by a “top-level delegation of ministers”, including those handling trade and the economy, alongside some 50 businesses and cultural organisations.