Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s China and India trip explained

According to a 6 June 2026 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office press release, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has finished a three-day visit to China and India. If you are wondering why one trip tried to cover security, trade, technology and supply chains at the same time, the government’s answer is simple: these issues now overlap. (gov.uk) Because this was an official release, it helps to read it as the government’s version of what the visit was for, not a neutral scorecard of what was achieved. The message from ministers is that Britain cannot step back from difficult diplomacy if it wants influence, growth and security at home. (gov.uk)

In Beijing, Cooper met Vice President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi before travelling to Shenzhen. The FCDO said the talks covered the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, wider Middle East stability and Ukraine, with Cooper calling for the waterway to reopen without tolls or charges and urging China to end economic support for Russia’s war. (gov.uk) **What this means:** the government is treating shipping routes, wars and regional crises as part of the same story. When one route closes or one conflict spreads, the effects can reach trade, prices and political pressure far beyond the countries directly involved. (gov.uk)

The China leg also touched Sudan and the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is a useful reminder that foreign policy is often about several emergencies at once. The UK also announced a partnership between Prudential plc and the National Innovation Centre for Ageing to open healthy ageing hubs across China, presenting it as both a health project and a commercial opportunity for British firms. (gov.uk) In Shenzhen, Cooper met investors and technology companies, promoted the UK as a place to invest, and argued for international standards on AI safety after seeing advances in AI and robotics. Put simply, the UK is treating AI as a security issue as well as a business issue. (gov.uk)

In New Delhi, Cooper met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. According to the FCDO, those talks focused on maritime security, economic growth and keeping supply chains working through global shocks, while building on the longer-term UK-India direction set out under Vision 2035. (gov.uk) The Strait of Hormuz came up again here, which shows how seriously the UK is taking disruption to shipping. Cooper and Indian counterparts also co-launched a Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence, which the government says will strengthen cooperation on maritime resilience. (gov.uk)

Critical minerals were another big theme in India. The government described them as essential to products such as electric vehicles, wind turbines and smartphones, which is why supply problems matter so much to modern economies. (gov.uk) During a meeting with India’s Minister for Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, Cooper launched the Critical Mineral’s Global Supply Chain Observatory. The FCDO says the AI-based tool will track mineral flows in real time and spot weak points, while India is committing £1.2m for a satellite observatory campus at the Indian Institute of Technology in Dhanbad with the University of Cambridge. (gov.uk)

One of the clearest political lines in the release is the claim that the UK should not avoid talking to governments it disagrees with. The press notice even used the phrase ‘cancel culture’ on foreign policy, arguing instead for a model of engagement that mixes cooperation with open disagreement. (gov.uk) **What this means for you:** the government is trying to show that foreign policy is not far away from daily life. Shipping lanes can affect costs, wars can reshape alliances, AI rules can affect safety, and mineral supplies can shape the technology people use every day. This trip was presented as proof that all of those questions now meet in the same room. (gov.uk)