SHANGHAI: Visiting Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday Britain has a \u201chuge amount to offer\u201d China, after his bid to forge closer ties prompted warnings from US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Starmer\u2019s trip is the first to China by a British prime minister in eight years, and follows in the footsteps of other Western leaders looking to counter an increasingly volatile United States.<\/p>\n
Leaders from France, Canada and Finland have flocked to Beijing in recent weeks, recoiling from Trump\u2019s bid to seize Greenland and tariff threats against NATO allies.<\/p>\n
Trump warned on Thursday it was \u201cvery dangerous\u201d for Britain to be dealing with China.<\/p>\n
Starmer brushed off those comments on Friday, noting that Trump was also expected to visit China in the months ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe US and the UK are very close allies, and that\u2019s why we discussed the visit with his team before we came,\u201d Starmer said in an interview with UK television.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it is wise for the UK to stick its head in the sand. China is the second-largest economy in the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Asked about Trump\u2019s comments on Friday, Beijing\u2019s foreign ministry said \u201cChina is willing to strengthen cooperation with all countries in the spirit of mutual benefit and win-win results.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starmer met top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, on Thursday, with both sides highlighting the need for closer ties.<\/p>\n
He told business representatives from Britain and China on Friday that both sides had \u201cwarmly engaged\u201d and \u201cmade some real progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UK has got a huge amount to offer,\u201d he said in a short speech at the UK-China Business Forum at the Bank of China.<\/p>\n
The meetings the previous day provided \u201cjust the level of engagement that we hoped for,\u201d Starmer said.<\/p>\n
He signed a series of agreements on Thursday, with Downing Street announcing Beijing had agreed to visa-free travel for British citizens visiting China for under 30 days, although Starmer acknowledged there was no start date for the arrangement yet.<\/p>\n
The Chinese foreign ministry said only that it was \u201cactively considering\u201d the visa deal and would \u201cmake it public at an appropriate time upon completing the necessary procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starmer hailed the agreements as \u201csymbolic of what we\u2019re doing with the relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said Beijing had lifted sanctions on UK lawmakers targeted since 2021 for their criticism of alleged human rights abuses against China\u2019s Muslim Uyghur minority.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Xi said to me that that means all parliamentarians are welcome,\u201d Starmer said in an interview with UK television.<\/p>\n
He traveled from Beijing to economic powerhouse Shanghai, where he spoke with Chinese students at the Shanghai International College of Fashion and Innovation, a joint institute between Donghua University and the University of Edinburgh.<\/p>\n
– Visas and whisky –<\/p>\n
The visa deal could bring Britain in line with about 50 other countries granted visa-free travel, including France, Germany, Australia and Japan, and follows a similar agreement made between China and Canada this month.<\/p>\n
The agreements signed included cooperation on targeting supply chains used by migrant smugglers, as well as on British exports to China, health and strengthening a bilateral trade commission.<\/p>\n
China also agreed to halve tariffs on British whisky to five percent, according to Downing Street.<\/p>\n
British companies sealed \u00a32.2 billion in export deals and around \u00a32.3 billion in \u201cmarket access wins\u201d over five years, and \u201chundreds of millions worth of investments,\u201d Starmer\u2019s government said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Xi told Starmer on Thursday that their countries should strengthen dialogue and cooperation in the context of a \u201ccomplex and intertwined\u201d international situation.<\/p>\n
Relations between China and the UK deteriorated from 2020 when Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong and cracked down on pro-democracy activists in the former British colony.<\/p>\n
However, China remains Britain\u2019s third-largest trading partner, and Starmer is hoping deals with Beijing will help fulfil his primary goal of boosting UK economic growth.<\/p>\n
British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca said on Thursday it would invest $15 billion in China through 2030 to expand its medicines manufacturing and research.<\/p>\n
And China\u2019s Pop Mart, makers of the wildly popular Labubu dolls, said it would set up a regional hub in London and open 27 stores across Europe in the coming year, including up to seven in Britain.<\/p>\n
Starmer will continue his Asia trip with a brief stop in Japan on Saturday to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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