British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives in Beijing aiming to boost trade and address security concerns, marking the first UK leader’s visit since 2018.
BEIJING: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a landmark visit aimed at resetting fraught bilateral relations.
He is the first UK prime minister to visit China since 2018, following a recent wave of Western leaders engaging with Beijing.
Starmer will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping for lunch on Thursday, followed by talks with Premier Li Qiang.
The trip is a chance for Beijing to present itself as a reliable partner amid global uncertainty over US policy under President Donald Trump.
For Starmer, battling low domestic polls, the visit is a key opportunity to boost Britain’s beleaguered economy.
Downing Street has framed the trip as pragmatic, seeking to boost trade while raising thorny issues like national security and human rights.
“There are opportunities to deepen bilateral relations,” Starmer told reporters travelling with him.
“It doesn’t make sense to stick our head in the ground and bury in the sand when it comes to China.”
He vowed to make “some real progress” during the important visit.
China’s foreign ministry said it was willing to use the visit to enhance political mutual trust.
Relations plummeted after Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 and have soured further with mutual spying accusations.
Starmer denied fresh claims reported this week that China hacked senior Downing Street officials’ phones.
“There’s no evidence of that. We’ve got robust schemes, security measures in place as you’d expect,” he said.
Since taking office in 2024, Starmer has sought to reset ties with Britain’s third-largest trade partner.
He is accompanied by around 60 business leaders from finance, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and other sectors.
The prime minister is expected to raise the case of imprisoned British national and Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai.
Starmer said engaging with Beijing allowed issues of disagreement to be discussed.
“You know my practice, which is to raise issues that need to be raised,” he added.
The visit has drawn criticism from opponents who accuse Starmer of being too soft on Beijing.
The UK and China also disagree on Beijing’s ties with Russia and accusations of human rights abuses.
Starmer will also visit Shanghai on Friday before a brief stop in Japan to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
