BEIJING — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt on Jan 10 and exchanged views over China-Britain ties and the Myanmar issue.

Facing an uncertain international environment, China and Britain, as comprehensive strategic partners, should strengthen communication and jointly play a stabilizing role in global affairs, Wang said.

He expressed hope that Britain will properly handle issues that impact mutual trust and the sound development of bilateral relations in order to build upon the “Golden Era” of China-Britain ties.

Regarding the refugee issue in Rakhine state in western Myanmar, the Chinese foreign minister said the priority now is to promote communication between Myanmar and its neighbor Bangladesh to enable refugee repatriation at an early date and reach a final settlement on the issue.

In the phone conversation, Hunt said Britain attaches great importance to developing relations with China and appreciates China’s significant role in international and regional affairs.

The British foreign secretary added that his country is willing to continue to work with China on advancing bilateral ties as well as on hotspot issues including in Myanmar.