The former Health Secretary made the gaffe during his debut trip to Beijing
The UK’s new Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt awkwardly referred to his Chinese wife as Japanese during an official visit to China.
As reported by the Guardian, Jeremy Hunt made an awkward blunder during an official to China.
Hunt is in Beijing to discuss a trade deal between China and the UK following Brexit. It is Hunt’s debut trip to Beijing as Foreign Secretary after taking over from Boris Johnson who resigned from the position in July.
During the meeting, Hunt referred to his Chinese wife Lucia Guo as “Japanese” when speaking to the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.
“My wife is Japanese – my wife is Chinese,” Hunt said before retracting his blunder.
“That’s a terrible mistake to make.” he added.
“My wife is Chinese and my children are half-Chinese and so we have Chinese grandparents who live in Xian and strong family connections in China,” he continued.
Other topics of discussion during the trip include “the importance of multilateralism and free trade and ways the UK and China can work together on global challenges such as climate change, development, security and non-proliferation and enforcing UN sanctions on North Korea”, Hunt’s office said ahead of the trip.