LONDON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming on Tuesday called on "young icebreakers" from the 48 Group Club to advocate open cooperation between China and Britain.

"Young people are the future of a nation. You are also the future of China-UK relations. I hope the 'young icebreakers' will carry forward the 'icebreaking' spirit and advocate open cooperation between China and the UK, and indeed cooperation between all the countries in the world," Liu said when delivering a keynote speech.

The "young icebreakers" is a network for young UK-China business leaders, continuing to reflect and enhance strong heritage from the 48 Group Club.

The event was jointly held by China Chamber of Commerce in the UK (CCCUK) and the 48 Group Clubs, bringing together over 200 guests from the business, finance sectors from China and Britain to discuss the cooperation opportunities between both countries in the future.

Although peace and development remain the main themes of the event, the world is far from being peaceful, Liu said, adding that trade protectionism is becoming a weapon to provoke trade dispute that put the global economy at risk, which is the "hard ice" that must be broken.

The ambassador said China's solution to break "hard ice" is inclusive cooperation, mutual benefit and assuming the responsibility of a major stakeholder.

"China is ready to embrace the world. We believe that a partnership forged with the right approach defies geographical distance," he said.

Despite the geographical distance, cultural gap and political differences between China and Britain, Liu said the two countries have established diplomatic relations and elevated their ties to first comprehensive partnership, then comprehensive strategic partnership and now global comprehensive partnership for the 21st century.

"I urge our young icebreakers to actively participate in the cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative and stay true to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefit. This will enable more countries to taste the fruit of China-UK cooperation. It will allow more people to share the benefit of economic globalization. This will be your contribution to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind," he said.

Sun Yu, CCCUK's Chairman and CEO of Bank of China (UK) Limited, was awarded for his special contribution to financial and commercial relations between China and Britain.