 "Starmer in China: Unsettled by Trump, UK PM turns to Xi with hopes to ‘bring benefits’ back home")
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday began his landmark visit to China, saying he hopes engagement with President Xi Jinping will “bring benefits” back to Britain, as strains with US President Donald Trump add to volatility in Western relations and push London to seek new economic opportunities.
According to a BBC report, speaking to reporters on the flight to Beijing, Starmer said the trip — his first to China and the first by a British prime minister since 2018 — was focused on delivering tangible gains for the UK, particularly through trade and investment.
He is travelling with a delegation of more than 50 British business leaders, which he described as “evidence that there are opportunities” that could translate into benefits “back at home.”
Starmer, whose approach to Beijing has been criticised by some British and US politicians, said Britain must remain alert to security risks but could not afford to ignore the world’s second-largest economy.
“It doesn’t make sense to stick our head in the ground and bury it in the sand when it comes to China, it’s in our interests to engage,” he told reporters. “It’s going to be a really important trip for us and we’ll make some real progress.”
The prime minister is due to meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday, before travelling to Shanghai on Friday for talks with local executives.
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View AllThe visit could mark a shift after years of strained ties over China’s crackdown on political freedoms in Hong Kong, its support for Russia in the war in Ukraine, and allegations by British security services that Beijing spies on politicians and officials.
China has been accused of crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang region. Britain has also criticised the treatment of Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon and UK citizen who is facing a possible life sentence.
Starmer said he would raise difficult issues but avoided giving details.
“In the past, on all the trips I’ve done, I’ve always raised issues that need to be raised, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself on the specifics until I’ve had the opportunity… Part of the reason for engaging with China is so that issues where we disagree can be discussed, and the issues where we agree can be progressed, and so that’s the approach,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
The trip comes as European and other Western countries intensify diplomacy with Beijing, partly to hedge against unpredictability from the United States under Trump.
Starmer’s visit follows tensions with Washington over Trump’s comments on Greenland, criticism of Britain’s deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, and remarks about Nato allies’ roles in Afghanistan.
Despite this, Starmer insisted that closer economic ties with China would not undermine Britain’s alliance with the United States.
“The relationship we have with the US is one of the closest relationships we hold, on defence, security, intelligence and also on trade and lots of areas,” he was quoted as saying.
He declined to say whether he would press Chinese leaders on Jimmy Lai’s case or ask Beijing to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine, but said he hoped to make some “progress” on expanding visa-free travel.
Starmer also rejected suggestions that Britain must choose sides between major powers. “I’m a pragmatist, a British pragmatist applying common sense,” he said.
For China, the visit offers a chance to present itself as a stable and reliable partner at a time of global uncertainty.
With inputs from agencies
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