Cameron gaat later dit jaar naar China: slijmen

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is intending to visit China this year, his office said, acknowledging that his meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in 2012 caused tension.

Cameron has visited China once as premier, in November 2010, when he stopped on his way to a Group of 20 summit in Seoul. On that occasion, he refused a Chinese request to remove a poppy from his lapel, worn in memory of Britain’s war dead. The flower has a difference resonance in China, which lost two opium wars with Britain in the 19th century.

British prime ministers have tried to visit China about every two years, with previous trips in 2005 and 2008. Cameron’s spokesman, Christian Cubitt acknowledged “differences” between the U.K. and China today, saying the government aims to “manage” them “with respect.”