Keir Starmer flies to China for three-day visit
Sir Keir Starmer is heading to Beijing in the first visit to China by a British prime minister since 2018.
He will meet with President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
Around 60 British business and cultural leaders are also taking part in the trip, including representatives from HSBC bank, pharmaceutical company GSK, Jaguar Land Rover and the National Theatre.
It marks the latest and most significant moment in the government’s attempt to restart Britain’s relationship with China. But critics argue that China has a radically different worldview and cannot be trusted, and that the government should be much more careful in its dealings with the Communist Party.
Asked whether the prime minister would raise human rights abuses with the president, Downing Street said he would “raise difficult issues where interests and values differ”.
Chinese was accused Crimes against humanity against the Uyghur population and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
There has also been criticism regarding the treatment of Jimmy Lai. Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul – who faces life imprisonment.
In addition to China’s human rights record, there are concerns about the extent of its espionage activities in the UK with the head of MI5. warning soon That Chinese government officials pose a daily national security threat.
However, Downing Street argued that the visit was important.
Speaking ahead of the trip, the prime minister said: “For years our approach to China has been inconsistent, blowing hot and cold from the Golden Age to the Ice Age, but like it or not, China is important to the UK.
“As one of the world’s largest economic players, a strategic and consistent relationship with them is absolutely in our national interest.
“This doesn’t mean turning a blind eye to the challenges they present; it means engaging with them even where we disagree.”
The Prime Minister was joined by Trade Minister Peter Kyle and Economy Minister Lucy Rigby for the visit.
Kyle visited Beijing in September last year, shortly after being appointed minister of labor.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited a year ago, a few months after then Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the current deputy prime minister.
We can expect Sir Keir Starmer to argue that governments have moved towards “isolationism” in their attitudes towards China in recent years and that “strategic re-engagement makes us stronger”.
Downing Street points out that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron recently traveled to Beijing, and that the heads of government of both France and Germany have been to Beijing several times since Theresa May’s visit as prime minister eight years ago.
The Prime Minister believes this leaves the UK an “outlier” among comparable western economies.
President Trump is expected to visit in April.
Some in his administration are skeptical about Britain developing closer ties, others with Beijing.
Earlier this month the government approved the construction of the new Chinese embassy in London, which will be the largest in Europe when completed.
Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said: “Starmer has already capitulated to the Chinese Communist Party over his plan to set up a spy hub super embassy in the heart of our capital.
“There is overwhelming evidence that China poses a serious threat to our national security and it is clear that Starmer will go to China without any pressure.
“He lacks the backbone to defend Britain and is bending over backwards to appease Beijing.”
This won’t be Sir Keir’s first encounter with President Xi. They met at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024.
After visiting Beijing and Shanghai, the prime minister will fly to Tokyo to meet new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
