State Councilor Yang Jiechi has flown to Britain and will meet Prime Minister Theresa May this week, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced in Beijing on Monday.

During his three-day visit, Yang will co-host the eighth China-Britain strategic dialogue with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

He will also meet British leaders, including the Prime Minister, to discuss bilateral ties and international and regional issues of common concern, according to Hua.

Hua said it is important for China and Britain, "two influential major countries", to strengthen strategic communications and dialogue at a time when the international situation is complicated, the world economy is sluggish and global governance faces challenges.

China hopes, on the basis of mutual respect and equality, to deepen political mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation with Britain, as well as to strengthen coordination between the two countries in international affairs, Hua said.