The United Kingdom recognized the People's Republic of China in 1950, and was the first major Western country to do so. On June 17, 1954, the UK and China established diplomatic relations at the level of charge d'affaires, which were upgraded to the ambassadorial level on March 13, 1972.The following three decades witnessed positive and stable development in overall China-UK relations despite some twists and turns. After the smooth handover of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China in July, 1997, the bilateral relations entered a new stage of comprehensive development. In 1998, China and the UK established the comprehensive partnership. In 2004, the two countries established the comprehensive strategic partnership.

In 1950, the UK switched its recognition from the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Despite this diplomatic change, the UK maintained the British Consulate in Tamsui, Taipei, and through it continued to conduct consular and trade-related activities. In March 1972, the UK and PRC upgraded diplomatic relations to Ambassadorial level and the British Consulate was subsequently closed. The British government retained the consulate building until June 1980, when it was returned to the ROC government. The ROC government’s office in the UK was established in September 1963 under the name of the Free Chinese Centre (FCC); it retained this title until 15th April 1992, when it changed the name into the Taipei Representative Office in the UK. Some 12 years after the establishment of the FCC in February 1976, the UK, seeking to promote its economic interests in Taiwan, established the Anglo-Taiwan Trade Committee in Taipei, which later set up a Visa handling Unit in June 1989. The Anglo-Taiwan Trade Committee and the UK Education Centre later merged in October 1993 to become the British Trade and Cultural Office.