Charles III hopes to visit China?

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) A senior aide to the British royal family said, "If the government asks the king if he is willing to visit China, I think we will seriously consider it."

In October 1986, the late British Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip jointly visited China. At that time, the Queen and her wife visited Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Two years before the Queen's visit to China, China and the UK signed a joint declaration, which regulated the return of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China and promoted the development of relations between China and the UK.

As King Charles III concluded his nine-day visit to the Caribbean, the royal aide told the media: "This year coincides with the 40th anniversary of the last visit to China by the King of England."

An important issue during Charles III's Caribbean trip is the thorny issue of compensation for the slave trade. Charles III has called the transatlantic slave trade an "inhumane injustice" as the British government considers whether it should issue a formal apology for the historic slave trade.

The aide said: "I think we are seeing a clear trend that the government increasingly wants the king to travel to politically sensitive and challenging areas." He said that although the king remains politically neutral, King Charles III has become the British government's "secret weapon" because of his keenness to play "tricky roles."

"Whether it is promoting environmental protection or renewing and improving diplomatic relations with some troublesome countries, these are things that the king is very passionate about," the aide said.

Charles III is currently nearly 78 years old and is undergoing cancer treatment. At the beginning of this year, King Charles of England was widely praised for his wisdom and grace when he visited the United States to meet with President Trump.

Relations between London and Beijing have been strained over the past few years over issues such as the political situation in Hong Kong, the former British colony, China's poor human rights record and accusations of espionage. However, the new British Prime Minister Burnham is continuing the cautious line towards China started by his predecessor Starmer. Starmer visited Beijing in January this year. The aide to King Charles said: "China is a very important but also very complex country. Therefore, various complex factors need to be taken into consideration when arranging the visit."

In 1997, Charles represented the United Kingdom as the Prince of Wales and attended the handover ceremony of Hong Kong sovereignty with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

When asked whether Prime Minister Burnham would recommend that Charles III visit China, his spokesman told AFP: Relevant questions should be answered by the British royal family.