12:35 GMT
Ben Chu
BBC Verify policy and analysis correspondent
Outside of Ukraine, the Verify team has been examining the UK’s trade relationship with China following Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing.
The Prime Minister says the UK cannot afford to ignore the economic opportunities presented by China. But he insisted Britain will maintain “close ties” with the US on business and will not be foreced to choose between America and China.
So who does the UK trade more with – the US or China?
The UK , externalexported £30bn worth of goods and services to China and imported £72bn worth of goods in the year to June 2025 – so £103bn in total. That makes China the UK’s fourth largest trading partner.
But the UK’s total imports and exports from the US over the same period were £330bn, so triple the trade with China.
China is the second largest economy in the world after the US, and its growing more rapidly than most of the UK’s other trading partners. But the US still matters more economically to the UK than China does. So it’s reasonable to argue there are considerable opportunities for for trading with the US in the future, particularly in areas of UK export strength, such as professional and business services.