- Title: CHINA: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband visits Shanghai
- Date: 16th March 2010
- Summary: SHANGHAI, CHINA (MARCH 15, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF UK PAVILION IN SHANGHAI WORLD EXPO SITE INTERIOR OF UK PAVILION ACRYLIC POLES WITH SEEDS ENCASED BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY DAVID MILIBAND WALKING TO PAVILION WITH OFFICIALS CAMERAMEN MILIBAND PUSHING IN A FINAL ACRYLIC POLE, THE 60,000TH POLE, INTO PAVILION STRUCTURE MILIBAND LOOKING AT PAVILION MILIBAND TALKING TO OFFICIALS WORKERS INSIDE PAVILION SEEDS ENCASED INTO ACRYLIC POLES NEWS CONFERENCE BY MILIBAND OUTSIDE PAVILION (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY DAVID MILIBAND, SAYING: "We believe that the British pavilion is going to say some very positive things about Britain about our creativity, about our commitment to sustainability, about our scientific excellence - symbolised by the seed bank here, about our openness and desire to engage with the people of China, the 40,000 Chinese who are going to visit here everyday." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY DAVID MILIBAND, SAYING: "I would characterise the relationship between Britain and China as one of cooperation, as one of partnership, as one of respect, and as one of growing engagement. We don't pretend that we agree on every issue, but that is a mark of the mutual commitment we have to work through any differences that exist and to do so on a basis of mutual respect." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY DAVID MILIBAND, SAYING: "Britain and China haven't only agreed on the goal that Iran should respect the non-proliferation treaty and not become a nuclear weapon state. We've also agreed on the means to achieve that, which is a combination of engagement and pressure. The engagement has been on the table with Iran for some time, they have been refusing it, while continuing to defy not only the UN Security Council, but the IAEA as well. And so we (Britain and China) will be working together on maintaining our unity and in search of the shared goal." MORE OF NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 31st March 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVAA40LJJI53P16KA2O10E5V19UA
- Story Text: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband visited the UK pavilion in Shanghai as he began the first official day of his China visit on Monday (March 15).
Shanghai will host the 2010 edition of the World Expo with the theme "Better City, Better Life" focusing on sustainable urban development.
Miliband inaugurated the £25 million British pound ($37.9 million U.S. dollars) pavilion at the Shanghai Expo by pushing in the final, the 60,000th, acrylic pole into the structure during a brief ceremony.
The UK pavilion is dubbed the "Seed cathedral" with a structure based on 60,000 acrylic poles enclosed with different kinds of seeds.
The foreign secretary said he was impressed with the pavilion and was confident it would be able to show off the uniqueness of British culture to its visitors.
"We believe that the British pavilion is going to say some very positive things about Britain, about our creativity, about our commitment to sustainability, about our scientific excellence - symbolised by the seed bank here, about our openness and desire to engage with the people of China, the 40,000 Chinese who are going to visit here everyday," Miliband said during a news conference after his visit to the UK pavilion.
After his Expo visit, Miliband will make a speech to students in Shanghai to warn his hosts on the dangers of economic protectionism.
He will then head to Beijing later on Monday and is set to hold talks with both his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi as well as Premier Wen Jiabao during his three-day trip.
He said the bilateral relationship between the two countries as one of mutual respect despite some differences.
"I would characterise the relationship between Britain and China as one of cooperation, as one of partnership, as one of respect and as one of growing engagement. We don't pretend that we agree on every issue, but that is a mark of the mutual commitment we have to work through any differences that exist and to do so on a basis of mutual respect," he said.
Diplomats said Iran will be high on the foreign secretary's agenda.
A Western proposal for a fourth set of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme is under discussion at the United Nations.
Russia has indicated it could back new sanctions, but China has argued that sanctions might make a diplomatic solution difficult.
"Britain and China haven't only agreed on the goal that Iran should respect the non-proliferation treaty and not become a nuclear weapon state. We've also agreed on the means to achieve that, which is a combination of engagement and pressure. The engagement has been on the table for Iran for some time and they have been refusing it, while continuing to defy not just the UN Security Council, but the IAEA as well. And so we (Britain and China) will be working together on maintaining our unity and in search of the shared goal," he said.
Britain's ambassador to China, Sebastian Wood, has said on Friday (March 12) that Beijing risks isolation if it fails to join international efforts to impose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
