British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that he wanted to build a “sophisticated relationship” with Beijing to boost growth and security, signalling a reset after years of strained ties. On the most important day of his four-day visit to China, the first by a British prime minister in eight years, Starmer held an 80-minute summit with Xi at the Great Hall of the People before they lunched together. He will later meet Premier Li Qiang.
Starmer, whose centre-left Labour Party government has struggled to deliver the growth it promised, has made improving relations with the world’s second-largest economy a priority, despite lingering misgivings about espionage and human rights. “China is a vital player on the global stage, and it’s vital that we build a more sophisticated relationship where we can identify opportunities to collaborate, but of course, also allow a meaningful dialogue on areas where we disagree,” Starmer told Xi at the start of their meeting. Xi said ties with Britain had gone through “twists and turns” that did not serve the interests of either country and that China stood ready to develop a long-term strategic partnership.
“We can deliver a result that can withstand the test of history,” the Chinese leader said, flanked by his top ministers. Starmer is the latest Western leader to engage in a flurry of diplomacy with China, as nations hedge against unpredictability from the US under President Donald Trump. Trump’s on-off threats of trade tariffs and pledges to grab control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, have rankled long-standing allies like Britain.
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Starmer’s visit immediately follows that of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who signed an economic deal with Beijing to tear down trade barriers, drawing Trump’s ire. Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese studies at King’s College London, said he expected a number of deals between Britain and China would be announced to show how their relationship has improved. Starmer is being accompanied by more than 50 business leaders, another signal that he is seeking economic wins.
Starmer has adopted a new policy of engagement with China after ties deteriorated for years under previous conservative governments, when London curbed some Chinese investment over national security worries and expressed concern over a crackdown on political freedoms in Hong Kong. “I made the promise 18 months ago, when we were elected into government, that I would make Britain face outwards again,” Starmer told Xi.
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