US EditionBritain's Starmer arrives in China as Western alliances face strain
Sir Keir Starmer leads a delegation of nearly 60 British businesses to China aiming to boost trade and balance economic opportunity with security and human rights concerns.
- On Wednesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing on January 28, 2026, for a four-day visit, stepping off a chartered British Airways plane greeted by a guard of honour and bouquet.
- The visit is intended to reset relations and draw inward investment, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer bringing more than 60 British business and cultural leaders to focus on net-zero supply chains.
- He is due to meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and visit Shanghai, accompanied by nearly 60 executives including BP, Rolls-Royce, AstraZeneca, and Rachel Reeves.
- Critics reacted sharply, calling the trip `kowtowing`, while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Prime Minister Starmer is too weak and the U.K. government insists it will protect national security.
- Growing U.S. tariff use has made expanding trade with China more urgent, with Western governments hedging exposure and Canada, via Mark Carney, offering a model with a landmark trade deal earlier this month.
118 Articles
118 Articles
Keir Starmer can’t resist Beijing
Eight years since Theresa May, the last British prime minister to visit China, hailed a “golden era” in Sino-British relations, Keir Starmer has arrived in Beijing with no grand visions to unveil. He promises only “pragmatism”, echoing the mantra set out in Labour’s manifesto and subsequent speeches: “cooperate where we can, compete where we need to.” This is a face-saving way of saying that, regardless of China’s transgressions in the time sinc…
Britain’s Starmer hails ’good progress’ after meeting China’s Xi
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed "really good progress" on issues including visa-free travel and tariffs during talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday. Starmer's visit to China is the first by a British premier since 2018 and follows a slew of Western leaders seeking a rapprochement with Beijing recently, pivoting from an increasingly unpredictable United States. Xi and Starmer met at the opulent Great Hall of th…
Starmer Seeks ‘Sophisticated’ Reset in UK-China Relations
Britain and China announced a renewed partnership on Thursday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Xi Jinping committing to increased cooperation in trade, investment, and technology for mutual benefits. Starmer called for a “more sophisticated relationship” with China, emphasizing improved market access, reduced tariffs, and investment opportunities. Notably, during the visit, Beijing agreed to […] The post Starmer Seeks ‘Sophisticat…
Pragmatism Over Polarity: Starmer Courts China While Keeping Washington Close
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer landed in Beijing on January 28th to begin a four-day official visit that breaks with years of diplomatic cooling between London and China. The trip, the first by a British head of government since 2018, takes place in an increasingly polarised international context, with relations between China and the United States marked by strategic distrust, technological rivalry, and a gradual economic decoupling. Starme…
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