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.
84 Articles
84 Articles
Starmer to Strengthen UK-China Ties in Landmark Meeting with Xi
Starmer to Strengthen UK-China Ties in Landmark Meeting with Xi In a significant diplomatic move, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. The encounter, anticipated to last 40 minutes, aims to rejuvenate economic relations between the UK and China, signaling a breakthrough after years of mutual distrust.During his four-day visit, Starmer will not only confer with Xi but will also engage …
Starmer visits Xi: First UK PM to make trip to China in eight years
Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Beijing for a three day visit to China – the first trip by a British prime minister for eight years. He’ll meet president Xi Jinping Thursday for talks focused on trade as well as national security. Earlier, he told a group of around 60 business and cultural leaders traveling with him that they were “making history”.
UK's Keir Starmer visits China as Beijing courts US allies
Keir Starmer has arrived in China for the first trip by a British prime minister since 2018. He's the latest of a string of Western leaders to visit recently, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz soon to follow.
Keir Starmer arrived on Wednesday 28 January in Beijing, the first visit of a British Prime Minister to China since 2018. A trip that will allow to revive bilateral relations between the two countries, as explained by the head of government upon his arrival, while this Thursday he is to meet and lunch with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Starmer visits China to "deepen political connections and boost economic ties"
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his country doesn't have to choose between relations with the United States and China as he started a four-day trip to China aimed at repairing ties and expanding opportunities for British companies in the world’s second-largest economy. FRANCE 24's Jan Camenzind Broomby tells us more from Beijing.
Negotiations with China are threatening diplomatic tensions.
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