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.
111 Articles
111 Articles
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…
British Prime Minister Starmer aims to reverse relations with China. As the first head of state in his country in eight years, he visited Xi Jinping in Beijing and spoke of "real good progress."
As Trump upends alliances, Britain says it needs a ‘more sophisticated’ relationship with China
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was “vital” to build a “more sophisticated relationship” with China as he kicked off the first visit of a British leader to China in eight years.
On a visit to China, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer promotes closer relations with the great economic power. Countries want to work more together.
The British government wants to improve the strained relationship with China – also because doubts about the reliability of the most important US ally to date are growing.
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