The United Kingdom recognized the People's Republic of China on 6 January 1950, becoming the first Western major country to recognize New China. China and the UK established chargé d'affaires-level diplomatic relations on 17 June 1954, and bilateral ties were upgraded to ambassador level on 13 March 1972. The two countries established a comprehensive strategic partnership in May 2004, subsequently instituting high-level exchange mechanisms such as the Annual Prime Minister's Meeting, Economic and Financial Dialogue, Strategic Dialogue and High-Level People-to-People Dialogue. During President Xi Jinping's state visit to the UK in October 2015, the two countries jointly issued the China-UK Joint Declaration on Building a Global Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century. During Prime Minister Keir Starmer's official visit to China in January 2026, the two countries agreed on developing a long-term and consistent comprehensive strategic partnership.

In recent years, China and Britain the UK have maintained high-level exchanges. In January 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May visited China. In July, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt visited China and held the 9th China-UK Strategic Dialogue. In June 2019, Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond co-hosted the 10th China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue.  In February and March 2020 and in March 2022, President Xi Jinping had telephone conversations with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In September 2022, as President Xi Jinping's Special Representative, Vice President Wang Qishan attended the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II of the UK. In May 2023, as President Xi Jinping's Special Representative, Vice President Han Zheng attended the coronation ceremony of King Charles III. In August 2023, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited China. In September 2023, Premier Li Qiang met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India. In August 2024, President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and in November the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In October 2024, Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited China. In January 2025, Vice Premier He Lifeng and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves co-hosted the 11th China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue in Beijing. In February 2025, Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the UK and held the 10th China-UK Strategic Dialogue with Foreign Secretary David Lammy. In March 2025, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang met with Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband in Beijing. In April 2025, Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with Foreign Secretary David Lammy. In July 2025, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and held talks with UK Prime Minister's National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell in Beijing. In November 2025, Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, and met with Prime Minister's National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell in Beijing. In January 2026, Prime Minister Keir Starmer officially visited China. President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji met and talked with Prime Minister Keir Starmer respectively. During this visit, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Prime Minister's National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell. In February 2026, Vice Premier He Lifeng extended congratulations on the “Icebreakers” Chinese New Year Dinner 2026 hosted by Britain's 48 Group. In March 2026, Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, and met with Prime Minister's National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell in Beijing.

The UK remains China's third-largest trading partner in Europe, as well as third-largest investment destination and third-largest source of foreign investment in Europe, while China is the UK's largest trading partner in Asia. In 2025, bilateral trade reached $103.73 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 5.3%, with China's exports to the UK totaling $85.09 billion (up 7.8% year-on-year) and imports from the UK $18.64 billion (down 4.7% year-on-year).

China and the UK have maintained exchanges and cooperation in culture, science and education. In 2012, China and the UK established a High-Level People-to-People Dialogue mechanism. The two countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on science and technology cooperation, along with over 20 sector-specific agreements or MOUs. The UK is among the first European countries to engage in educational cooperation and exchanges with China, and hosts the largest number of Chinese students in Europe. Currently, there are 30 Confucius Institutes and 164 Confucius Classrooms in the UK.                                                                       

In recent years, the Chinese and British militaries have maintained exchanges and cooperation. The two sides established a Defense Consultation mechanism in 2002 (upgraded to Defense Strategic Consultation in 2010), which has been held 10 times so far. The latest session was convened in China in September 2024.                                                                                                                                      

By the end of 2025, there were 69 Chinese provinces and cities having sister relationships with localities in the UK.

From 17 February, 2026 to 31 December, 2026, ordinary passport holders from the UK can be exempted from visa to enter China and stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family/friends visit, exchange and transit purposes.