Inside Keir Starmer’s crunch China assembly as PM leaves door open to Xi Jinping UK go to
Keir Starmer spent around three hours with the Chinese President, who rolled out the red carpet with a lavish banquet and a ceremonial welcome at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People
Keir Starmer and China’s President Xi Jinping during PM’s visit to Beijing (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Keir Starmer has promised a more “sophisticated” relationship with China as he inked a deal for visa-free travel and left the door open to a UK visit for Xi Jinping.
The Prime Minister spent around three hours with the Chinese President on Thursday, who rolled out the red carpet with a lavish banquet and a ceremonial welcome at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. The pair bonded over football and Shakespeare at the landmark talks, which were described as warm by Downing Street.
But the PM challenged President Xi on several tense subjects, including the imprisonment of pro-democracy campaigner and British national Jimmy Lai. He also raised the Ukraine war but the PM refused to spell out whether he exerted pressure on Beijing to do more to restrain Russia.
The visit comes as Mr Starmer seeks to mend ties with the world ‘s second largest economy after relations deteriorated amid rows over Chinese espionage, human rights and national security. But as Donald Trump upends the world order, both sides see something to gain from a less fraught relationship.
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The leaders met at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, as part of Mr Starmer’s three-day trip to China – the first by a British PM in eight years. President Xi told Mr Starmer that Britain and China must rise above their differences and “work together for the sake of world peace and stability”.
He said the relationship in recent years had seen “twists and turns that did not serve the interests of our countries”. In a pointed swipe at the Tories, he said: “In the past, Labour governments made important contributions to the growth of China-UK relations.”
The Chinese Premier told Mr Starmer the two men would “stand the test of history” if they could “rise above differences. He said: “Your visit this time has drawn a lot of attention. Sometimes good things take time. As long as it is the right thing that serves the fundamental interests of the country and the people, then as leaders we should not shy away from difficulties and we should press ahead with fortitude.”
The President quoted a Chinese proverb: “Range far your eye over long distances”. He added: “As long as we take a broad perspective, rise above differences and respect each other, then we will prove ourselves able to stand the test of history.”
A Chinese readout of the meeting also stated: “Xi Jinping pointed out that unilateralism, protectionism, and power politics have been rampant for some time, severely impacting the international order. International law is only truly effective when all countries abide by it, and major powers, in particular, must take the lead; otherwise, they will regress to a jungle-like world.”
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His remark could be seen as a dig at Mr Trump’s chaotic tenure in the White House. Mr Starmer, who is the first UK PM to visit China for eight years, said turbulence abroad was hammering Brits at home, pointing to rising prices and national security. He said: “China is a vital player on the global stage and it is vital that we build a more sophisticated relationship.”
The PM said he had ordinary Brits in mind on the visit, which is aimed at shoring up economic ties to fire up growth and drum up Chinese business. Mr Starmer said: “I made the promise 18 months ago when we were elected into government that I would make Britain face outwards again. Because as we all know, events abroad affect everything that happens back in our home countries, to prices on the supermarket shelves to how secure we feel.”
His enthusiasm for a closer approach with China attracted some criticism at home. Tory MP Alicia Kearns, a former chair of the Common Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “He [Starmer] should not have gone to China without a precondition that Jimmy Lai would be coming home with him and the sanctions be lifted against MPs.”
Tom Tugendhat, the ex-security minister who was sanctioned by China, said: “We need to stand up for Britain today.” But the Prime Minister compared his approach to “seeing the whole elephant”, quoting a Chinese idiom about failing to see the whole picture.
He told business leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing: “President Xi tells the story of blind men being presented with an elephant. One touches the leg and thinks it’s a pillow, another feels the belly and thinks it’s a wall. And too often this reflects how China is seen.
“But I profoundly believe that with broader and deeper engagement, which we’ve been talking about all this week, is our way of seeing the whole elephant and therefore building a more sophisticated relationship fit for these times.”
In a significant move, China agreed to allow Brits travelling for up to 30 days to escape the hassle of getting a visa. Tariffs on whisky will halve from 10% to 5% in a boost of £250million over five years to the industry, as China is Scotland ’s 10th largest market for whisky.
Both sides also agreed to work towards an agreement on services to set clear rules for UK firms doing business in China. The UK is the world’s second largest exporter of services – which includes finance, healthcare and legal services – and demand from China is growing, Downing Street said.
No10 also said 10 deals had been agreed on cooperation on health, education and sports, but did not set out further details. The Chinese Government said the UK had been willing to discuss exchanges between legislative bodies, but it is unclear how this would work when a number of British MPs have been sanctioned by Beijing.
Meanwhile, Mr Starmer left the door open to a return visit for President Xi. The PM’s official spokesman described the highly anticipated meeting as “warm”, and did not rule out inviting the Chinese Premier to Britain.
Asked if the PM invited President Xi to the UK, the spokesman said: “I think the PM has always been clear that a reset relationship with China, that is no longer in an ice age, is beneficial to British people, British business. I’m not going to get ahead of future engagements, we’ll set those out in the normal way.”
It is understood that no invitation has been issued. President Xi travelled to the UK in 2015 for a state visit, under what the-then Tory Government termed a “Golden Era” in UK-China relations. Mr Cameron, who was PM at the time, took him for a cosy visit to a local pub, where the pair were pictured drinking pints of IPA, and eating fish and chips.
