# Xi Jinping and Andy Burnham hold first call, with Jimmy Lai also discussed

https://mins.news/en/item/51035

- BBC Chinese, 2026-09-09 09:08 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/articles/c1j4n836le2o/trad?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

> Chinese President Xi Jinping and new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham held their first known publicised call. China said both sides should expand cooperation and restore bilateral ties, but Downing Street’s account did not include the phrase “restore to the highest level in history.” Burnham raised Hong Kong, human rights, Russia’s war in Ukraine and Jimmy Lai’s case.

## Related coverage

- [Xi visits India for the first time in seven years as ties slowly thaw](https://mins.news/en/video/55476) — Al Jazeera English, 2026-09-12
- [Xi holds phone talks with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham](https://mins.news/en/item/50600) — China News Service, 2026-09-09
- [China’s Xi tells UK’s Burnham they have more common interests than differences](https://mins.news/en/item/50011) — Reuters, 2026-09-08