During his trip to China, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in a bid to bolster trade ties between the two nations
During his trip to China, UK Prime Minister
Keir Starmer will meet Chinese President
Xi Jinping on Thursday in a bid to bolster trade ties between the two nations. The historic talks are coming at a time when Starmer has been facing internal pressure amid fears that the US is ’no longer a reliable partner’.
The visit is significant because Starmer will be the first British Prime Minister to visit
China in the last eight years. According to The Guardian, Starmer is scheduled to hold a 40-minute meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing before several cultural and business receptions.
On his way to Beijing, Starmer told reporters that he wanted to bring “stability and clarity” to bilateral relations after years of “inconsistency” under the Tories, when relations went from a “golden age to ice age”. Meanwhile, Beijing leadership has spied a political opportunity to improve links with one of the US’s closest allies at a time of deep uncertainty in the transatlantic alliance.
A cautious step
Starmer, who is also scheduled to meet the Chinese premier,
Li Qiang, on Thursday, insisted that he is “clear-eyed” about the threat China poses to the UK’s national security, with Downing Street saying he would have “guardrails” in place to protect against espionage.
Ahead of his visit, he vowed to raise the “difficult human rights issues” with the Chinese leadership, such as the case of
Jimmy Lai, the former media tycoon and one of Hong Kong’s most significant pro-democracy voices, with the UK government pressing for his release. Meanwhile, the UK will also keep a close eye on Donald Trump’s reaction to the visit, and has insisted the UK will not be forced to “choose between” China and the US, amid rising trade tensions between the two superpowers.
Despite this, Starmer’s visit has attracted fierce criticism from his political opponents in the UK, particularly after the government gave the green light for a Chinese mega-embassy near Tower Bridge in London. Following a speech in London, the Tory leader
Kemi Badenoch said she would not visit China “at this time” if she were in charge. “We should be talking more to those countries that are aligned with our interests, not the country that is doing everything it can to undermine our economy,” Badenoch. Overall, Starmer’s visit will be watched closely.
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