From April 28 to 29, 2008, a team of senior British diplomats paid a group visit to China. The major members of the British side include Ambassador to China William Geoaffrey Ehrman, Ambassador to the U.S. Nigel Sheinwald, Ambassador to Russia Anthony Brenton, Ambassador to France Peter Westmacott, Permanent Representative to the United Nations John Sawers, Permanent Representative to the EU Kim Darroch and Director General for Europe and Globalization at the UK Foreign Office Simon Fraser. Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui met with the British diplomats respectively. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Hongbo and British Ambassador to China William Geoaffrey Ehrman co-chaired a UK-China high-level seminar on foreign policy, at which both sides exchanged views on the status and role of the two countries in the current international system and their respective foreign policies, the international institutional reform, anti-proliferation mechanism, China-UK and China-EU relations as well as climate change.

The group visit by the senior British diplomats was agreed upon by the foreign ministers of the two countries during British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's visit to China in February. It is the first of its kind not only in the history of China-UK relations but also in bilateral diplomatic practice.