China hails Britain's approval of Hinkley Point nuclear project: FM

China hails Britain's approval of the Hinkley Point nuclear project and hopes the project will go well, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday night.

Wang made the remarks during his meeting with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on the sidelines of a series of UN General Assembly high-level events.

Wang said that China-Britain relations have maintained a good momentum of development and the two countries have seen fruitful cooperation in various fields.

There are conditions and a solid basis for the two sides to build a "golden age" for China-Britain relations, he added.

Wang said China attaches importance to Britain's influence over international affairs and appreciates Britain's adherence to free trade as well as its pursuance of a policy of openness.

China is willing to treat the bilateral relations from a strategic perspective and with a global vision and is going to well prepare for the coming events based on exchange and cooperation mechanisms between the two sides, he noted.

China would like to dovetail its Belt and Road Initiative with Britain's development strategy, boost cultural exchanges, and conduct third-party cooperation in various forms so as to promote bilateral cooperation toward a new height with new achievements, he added.

For his part, Johnson said Britain is pleased to see Britain-China relations going forward continuously under new circumstances.

With the two nations sharing many common interests, Britain believes that bilateral exchanges and cooperation will become ever closer, he added.

China becomes an increasingly important partner for Britain, and Britain is committed to developing relations with China, Johnson said.

Britain is willing to take advantage of China's Belt and Road Initiative to promote bilateral cooperation in all fields, actively conduct third-party cooperation, and steadily proceed with the Hinkley Point project to push for greater development of bilateral relations in the "golden age," said Johnson.

The two sides also exchanged views on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula as well as other issues including Afghanistan and counterterrorism.

The Hinkley Point nuclear project is Britain's first nuclear power plant in two decades. It will be co-built by China General Nuclear Power Corp., which has a one-third stake, and French state-owned company EDF.

The British government on Thursday decided to approve it following a new agreement with EDF.

The Belt and Road Initiative comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, envisioning a trade and infrastructure network that connects Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes.