Britain values the Sino-British strategic partnership and hopes to further strengthen bilateral ties in areas of shared interests, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told a news briefing yesterday.

Sino-British ties have progressed at a sound pace in recent years.

Despite the impending change in the British cabinet, Gordon Brown, outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair's chancellor of the exchequer and his most likely successor, is not expected to make any substantial changes in the country's foreign policy, said Beckett.

Beckett praised the achievements of the people of Hong Kong in the 10 years since its return to China and hopes the UK will remain a committed partner to the special administrative region.

Beckett said climate change is a shared dilemma that all the countries of the world must confront together.

"We have to find a way to develop without destroying the environment. China is already a pioneer in building this new economic model by setting the target of increasing energy efficiency by 20 percent and reducing pollutants by 10 percent by 2010," she said, adding that it makes sense for the world to work together on addressing shared international challenges.

She praised China's role on the Darfur issue, calling for more efforts from the international community.

"I noticed there has been some criticism of China, but actually China has played a really quite positive role, particularly in the negotiation of the Darfur peace agreement," she said.

Beckett arrived here on Wednesday morning for a six-day official visit. This is her first China tour as British foreign secretary.

She is expected to hold talks with her newly appointed Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and meet Premier Wen Jiabao today.

Source: China Daily