Could King Charles III of England visit China? Royal aide: Will consider carefully

(Central News Agency, London, comprehensive foreign news report on the 7th) In history, the late Queen Elizabeth II was the only person who ever paid a state visit to China as a British monarch. After 40 years, senior royal aides said this week that King Charles III would not rule out becoming the second person in history.

Agence France-Presse reported that a senior royal aide told the media this week: "If the government asked the king if he would like to visit China, I think we would consider it very carefully."

Charles's mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, visited China with her husband Prince Philip in October 1986, two years after the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. According to reports at the time, the two visited Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou during the period.

Charles' recent nine-day trip to the Caribbean also highlighted his role in dealing with sensitive issues. During the visit, the issue of reparations for slavery came into focus. Charles described the transatlantic slave trade as an "appalling injustice" and the British government is considering whether to apologize for it.

The aide pointed out when Charles concluded his Caribbean trip that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Queen's visit to China. He also said that the British government is gradually forming a pattern of asking the king to come forward to deal with politically sensitive and quite challenging situations.

The aide added that a politically neutral king who was "receptive to the hard parts" of his duties could also be a "great secret weapon" for the government.

"Whether it's taking a leadership role on environmental issues or re-establishing and deepening relationships with politically complex countries, these are the things he is fully committed to," the aide said.

Charles is about to turn 78 and is still undergoing cancer treatment, but the royal family has not disclosed the type of cancer he has. He paid a state visit to the United States earlier this year and was widely praised for his delicate interactions with U.S. President Trump.

Relations between Britain and China have been strained for years, in part due to controversy over the political situation in the former British colony of Hong Kong, criticism of Beijing's human rights record and accusations of espionage.

However, British Prime Minister Burnham is continuing the policy of his predecessor Shi Keer in cautiously promoting the warming of UK-China relations. Shikel visited Beijing in January this year.

Charles's staff said: "China is an extremely important country and a very complex country. When arranging the itinerary, we will face many complex issues."

When Charles was still the Prince of Wales in 1997, he attended the handover ceremony of Hong Kong sovereignty with then Chinese President Jiang Zemin as the highest-level representative of the United Kingdom.