{"id":547192,"date":"2026-01-27T16:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T16:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/547192\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T16:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T16:32:10","slug":"uks-keir-starmer-heads-to-china-seeking-a-thaw-in-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/547192\/","title":{"rendered":"UK’s Keir Starmer heads to China seeking a thaw in relations"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON (AP) \u2014 U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> is heading to China, seeking a thaw in relations with Beijing at a time of strained ties with the United States.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s hoping for an economic boost to Britain, but risks the wrath of China hawks at home \u2014 and of U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a>, who\u2019s already heaping tariffs and criticism on America\u2019s closest allies.<\/p>\n

Starmer is due to meet China\u2019s President Xi Jinping<\/a> and Premier Li Qiang during the visit to Beijing and Shanghai that starts Wednesday, the first by a U.K. leader since 2018. He is expected to be accompanied by Business Secretary Peter Kyle and dozens of corporate chiefs as Britain seeks Chinese technology and investment, alongside greater access to the world\u2019s second-largest economy for U.K. financial services, cars and Scotch whisky.<\/p>\n

The key word stressed by both sides is pragmatism. As Trump roils the world order, both London and Beijing are looking for a more stable relationship centered on trade and cooperation on big issues like climate change.<\/p>\n

Starmer told his Cabinet on Tuesday before flying to Beijing that Britain had veered from \u201cthe golden age to the ice age\u201d in relations with China, but he would follow \u201ca strategic and consistent strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the visit is an opportunity to enhance political trust and deepen \u201cpragmatic cooperation\u201d amid \u201cthe current complex and volatile international situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

From golden era to big chill<\/p>\n

Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King\u2019s College London, said the trip comes as dramatic shifts in geopolitics<\/a> create new opportunities for U.K.-Chinese relations.<\/p>\n

But he said \u201cStarmer is going to be talking to a very skeptical audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cBritain has not been very consistent in its relations with China. We have been very hot and cold,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

The relationship has soured since the short-lived \u201cgolden era\u201d proclaimed in 2015 by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, who took Xi to a traditional English pub during a state visit. Beijing\u2019s crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong<\/a>, China\u2019s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and growing concern about espionage and economic interference have widened the gap between London and Beijing.<\/p>\n

Cameron\u2019s Conservative successors<\/a> barred Chinese investment in sensitive telecoms infrastructure and squeezed China out of investment in new U.K. nuclear power plants.<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s center-left Labour Party government carried out a review of relations with Beijing after it was elected 18 months ago. It says it will protect U.K. national security from Chinese espionage and interference<\/a> while keeping up diplomatic dialogue and economic cooperation with the Asian superpower.<\/p>\n

Both Britain\u2019s economy, the world\u2019s sixth largest, and Starmer\u2019s popularity could use a boost.<\/p>\n

His government has struggled to deliver the economic growth it promised and ease a cost-of-living crisis for millions of households. Labour lags behind hard-right Reform UK in opinion polls, and nervous Labour lawmakers openly mull whether it would be better to ditch Starmer for a more charismatic leader, such as Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham<\/a>. <\/p>\n

America\u2019s allies look to China<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s visit to China comes as cracks are starting to appear in his attempt to strike up a warm relationship with Trump \u2014 efforts rewarded with a trade deal<\/a> that reduced U.S. tariffs on Britain\u2019s key auto and aerospace industries.<\/p>\n

For months Starmer refrained from public criticism as Trump attacked the mayor of London<\/a>, slammed British immigration policy and sued the BBC for $10 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But in recent days, Starmer has called Trump\u2019s desire to take over Greenland \u201ccompletely wrong\u201d and condemned the president\u2019s disparaging comments about the role of U.K. and other NATO troops in Afghanistan, which Starmer called \u201cinsulting\u201d and \u201cappalling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starmer says Britain does not need to choose between the U.S. and China. But he travels to Beijing days after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Next month it\u2019s the turn of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as some of America\u2019s strongest allies hedge their bets against the unpredictable Trump.<\/p>\n

Zhao Minghao, a professor in the Institute of International Studies at Shanghai\u2019s Fudan University, said growing unease among U.S. allies over Washington\u2019s recent policy moves, including on tariffs, Greenland and the war in Ukraine, \u201chave triggered a wave among allies to recalibrate their policies to \u2018de-risk\u2019 from the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

But rapprochement with Beijing brings the risk of a rift with Washington. Trump has threatened to slap a 100% tariff on all Canadian goods after Carney struck a trade deal with China on his trip this month.<\/p>\n

Espionage and human rights concerns<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s critics say the government is being naive about China\u2019s threat to Britain\u2019s security and weak in the face of pressure from Beijing.<\/p>\n

The trip follows U.K. approval of a 20,000 square-meter (around 215,000 square-foot) Chinese Embassy<\/a> near the Tower of London despite claims by critics that the \u201cmega-embassy\u201d will make it easier for China to conduct espionage and intimidate dissidents<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Starmer also faces criticism over an agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands<\/a> in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. The government says the move will secure the future of a key U.K.-U.S. military base against legal challenge, but critics argue it opens the door to Chinese influence. Last week Trump spoke out against the deal<\/a>, reversing his previous support.<\/p>\n

Human rights are another tricky area. Chris Patten, who was governor of Hong Kong from 1992 until the British colony was handed back to China in 1997, said Starmer should be firm in raising disagreements over issues including the treatment of China\u2019s Uyghur minority and the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner and British citizen.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to say with them, without being impolite, exactly what you think,\u201d Patten said. \u201cThey know we\u2019re different, but they want to have a reasonable relationship with us and, particularly given the state of the world with Trump, we should want to have a reasonable relationship with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown, from King\u2019s College, said Starmer will likely consider his trip a success if it secures significant investment and avoids major political pitfalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they\u2019re going to do is basically commit to consistency, a bit more predictability,\u201d he said. \u201cFriends where we can be friends, otherwise agree to disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON (AP) \u2014 U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is heading to China, seeking a thaw in relations with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":547193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[240561,13214,9710,64,74,13212,240560,123424,69,23532,25821,57,86,13790,205573,17723,240562,18809,50,100233,80,235115,376,4338,103,107,11762],"class_list":{"0":"post-547192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-andy-burnham","9":"tag-asia-pacific","10":"tag-beijing","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-china","13":"tag-china-government","14":"tag-chris-patten","15":"tag-david-cameron","16":"tag-donald-trump","17":"tag-espionage","18":"tag-friedrich-merz","19":"tag-general-news","20":"tag-government-policy","21":"tag-international-trade","22":"tag-jimmy-lai","23":"tag-keir-starmer","24":"tag-kerry-brown","25":"tag-mark-carney","26":"tag-news","27":"tag-peter-kyle","28":"tag-politics","29":"tag-send-to-apple-news","30":"tag-united-kingdom","31":"tag-united-kingdom-government","32":"tag-world","33":"tag-world-news","34":"tag-xi-jinping"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115968025732882915","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}