On October 27 and 31, 2023, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong met respectively with Director General for Indo-Pacific in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK Jenny Bates, and Asia and Oceania Director at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Benoît Guidée, at the latter's request, and had an all-round and in-depth exchange of views on the regional situation in Asia and regional affairs of mutual interest and concern with them.