Keir Starmer embarks on main China journey to woo Beijing – however faces thorny points
Keir Starmer travels to China to thaw frosty relations in the first visit by a British PM in eight years – but the PM faces pressure to challenge Beijing on a number of thorny topics
Keir Starmer during a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit(Image: Getty Images)
Keir Starmer travels to China on Wednesday to thaw frosty relations in the first visit by a British PM in eight years.
The Prime Minister will go on a charm offensive with Beijing as he seeks growth-boosting ties with the world’s second largest economy.
His bid to woo China comes amid strains on the US-UK relationship from Donald Trump’s demands to take Greenland and his slur over the role played by Nato forces in Afghanistan.
But Mr Starmer faces pressure to challenge Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a number of thorny topics, including espionage, the treatment of Uighur Muslims and the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner and British national.
His four-day trip is the first by a British PM since Theresa May in 2018, and follows a deep freeze in UK-China relations under previous Tory Governments. Tensions deepened over Beijing’s support for Russia in Ukraine, crackdowns on protesters in Hong Kong, and concern over Chinese espionage.
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But Mr Starmer has sought to end this “Ice Age” since coming into office, holding talks with President Xi at the G20 summit in 2024. Ahead of the trip, the PM said: “For years, our approach to China has been dogged by inconsistency – blowing hot and cold, from Golden Age to Ice Age. But like it or not, China matters for the UK.
“As one of the world’s biggest economic players, a strategic and consistent relationship with them is firmly in our national interest. That does not mean turning a blind eye to the challenges they pose – but engaging even where we disagree.
“This is what our allies do, and what I will do: delivering for the public, putting more money in their pockets and keeping them safe through pragmatic, consistent co-operation abroad.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has visited China three times, while German chancellor Friedrich Merz and the US President are due to visit soon, the PM told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
The visit is likely to prove controversial, after rows over attempted Chinese espionage in Parliament, sanctions of British MPs who have vocally criticised Beijing, and allegations of human rights abuses. But the PM sees an economic prize in deeper ties as Mr Trump continues to cause global chaos with threats of tariffs.
Downing Street said the UK would never sacrifice national security for economic gains but warned that failing to engage would be “a staggering dereliction of duty”. The PM’s official spokesman said: “After years of isolationism and neglect, this Government has led a strategic re-engagement with the world, strengthening our influence abroad and making us stronger at home. This is Britain back at the top table, dealing with the world’s most consequential powers, including China.”
Lord Patten, who governed Hong Kong from 1992 until it was handed over to China in 1997, said relations with Beijing were “dim sum we should consume, but with a very long spoon”. He welcomed the idea of closer ties but urged Mr Starmer to be frank with Chinese leaders.
“I don’t think we should kid ourselves that if you’re nice to China, they’re more likely to obey the rules,” he said. “They sign up to agreements and they break them whenever it’s convenient.
“So I’m in favour of trying to have a better relationship with China, but we shouldn’t think that there is some way of cosying up to China and getting them to do what you want them to do in perpetuity, because it doesn’t happen like that.”
The Prime Minister is also expected to travel to Tokyo to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the end of his visit to China. The trip comes at a fraught moment for the PM back home, as the backlash continues over the decision to block potential leadership rival Andy Burnham from running in a by-election next month.
