Premier Li Keqiang attended a virtual dialogue with representatives of the British business sector in Beijing on the afternoon of July 6.

The attendees exchanged views on issues such as China-UK relations and pragmatic cooperation, the COVID-19 epidemic, dealing with climate change, improving the business environment, deepening service trade cooperation and promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Heads of more than 30 multinational corporations and well-known institutions, including Standard Life, Diageo and AstraZeneca, attended the dialogue.

There exist many uncertain and unstable factors in the current global situation, Premier Li said.

He added as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and major economies, China and the UK are important forces in maintaining global peace, promoting common development and safeguarding the multilateral trading system.

He said stable China-UK relations are conducive to upholding free and fair trade, pushing forward the global economic recovery, tackling global challenges and creating more benefits for the two peoples.

China would like to, with the UK, consolidate mutual trust and respect, seek common ground while reserving differences, deepen win-win cooperation and accumulate consensus and resolve differences through dialogue to obtain a healthy and stable development of China-UK relations, he said.

Premier Li said mankind makes up a community of shared future, and the international community can only defeat the COVID-19 epidemic by strengthening cooperation.

China and UK are among the first countries to develop and produce vaccines, he said.

China insists vaccines are global public goods and has cooperated with many other countries in vaccines, he said, adding China would like to increase communications and share research outcomes with all sides, especially on virus variants, to promote global victory against the epidemic.

China attaches great importance to tackling climate change, Premier Li said.

President Xi Jinping announced China will hit its carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, and that is the only road in the process of China's modernization drive, Premier Li said.

As the largest developing country in the world, China is set to realize modernization by mid-century, Premier Li said, adding it is a tough task to achieve low-carbon, green development while ensuring Chinese people live a happy life, and China will put forth the utmost effort to reach these goals.

Premier Li expressed his hope the two countries will enhance cooperation in fields such as clean energy, expand green technology cooperation based on intellectual property rights protection and deal with climate change together.

Premier Li said China will unswervingly push forward the basic State policy of reform and opening-up. The country will open its door wider to the outside world as it fully opened its manufacturing sector, and is orderly advancing openness of the service sector, he said.

In construction of the new development pattern, China will make continuous efforts to build a market-oriented, rule-based and international market, treat all market entities, including foreign-invested enterprises, equally, and welcome entry of more foreign capital, Premier Li added.

He added his wishes the British side will provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises investing and doing business in the UK.

Premier Li said both China and the UK have a long history and splendid culture, and enjoy time-honored people-to-people exchanges, adding he expects the two sides will continue to respect each other, stay open-minded and inclusive and jointly safeguard the diversity of human civilization.

Premier Li encouraged all sectors of society of the two sides to strengthen communications, boost mutual understanding and provide positive factors for China-UK relations.

The British representatives expressed satisfaction with the booming bilateral trade relations, adding China is an important trade partner of the UK, and the British business sector highly values the Chinese market and are fully confident in the country's development.

The two countries have huge room for win-win cooperation in the fields such as finance, services, agriculture, medical treatment, education, manufacturing and infrastructure, they added.

They said the British business sector hoped for further trade and investment with China and deeper practical cooperation, for the all-around development of China-UK relations.

With a focus on boosting mutual trust and expanding cooperation for common development, the dialogue was co-hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the China-Britain Business Council.

CBBC President James Sassoon and Chairman Sherard Cowper-Coles addressed and presided over the dialogue, respectively.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, also attended the event.