BEIJING (AA) – Beijing has insisted that relations with the United Kingdom will not be impacted by footage in which Queen Elizabeth was caught describing Chinese officials as having been “very rude” during a state visit last year.
China’s state-run Global Times reported Thursday that foreign ministry spokesperson responded to the footage by insisting that President Xi Jinping’s visit to the U.K. had marked a new phase in developing a “golden era” for bilateral relations.
“President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the U.K. last October was a great success, thanks to the enormous efforts made by the teams of the two sides,” Lu Kang told a press conference Wednesday. “Both China and the U.K. agree on that.”
The comments by Queen Elizabeth were recorded by a Buckingham Palace camera as she was introduced Tuesday to a police commander responsible for organizing the state visit.
“They were very rude to the ambassador,” she said, referring to the U.K.’s envoy.
Buckingham Palace refused to comment on the monarch’s private conversations.
“However, the Chinese state visit was extremely successful and all parties worked closely to ensure it proceeded smoothly,” it insisted.
In a commentary on the incident Thursday, the Global Times criticized Western media as “careless gossipers”, “fierce-looking and narcissistic” and seeming to “retain the inelegance of barbarians”.
“However, we also believe that they will step forward in constant contact with the eastern civilization of five thousand years,” it underlined.
