Starmer in China for first visit by UK premier since 2018

On his three-day visit accompanied by dozens of business executives and two ministers, UK Prime Minister Starmer will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and then travel to Shanghai, before a brief visit to Japan. 

It's the first time in eight years that a British Prime Minister has visited Beijing.

Trade talks are expected to be a major part of the visit as Britain looks to unlock new economic opportunities. It follows a string of Western leaders visiting Beijing in recent weeks.

China sees the trip as a chance to open a "new chapter in the healthy and stable development of China-UK relations," including deepening practical cooperation, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said. 

Starmer will meet with President Xi for lunch on Thursday, followed by a meeting with Premier Li.

The British leader said on Wednesday his visit to China was "going to be a really important trip for us", vowing to make "some real progress".

Vince Cable, former UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, and one-time leader of the Liberal Democrats, weighed in on the visit, saying as a matter of Britain's economic interest, it's important to engage with China. 

He said: "There is another more topical reason, which is the erratic behavior of the Trump administration, which is causing a lot of Western countries, not just the UK, to hedge, to sort of balance our relationships in a different way. 

"I suppose you could say that the British are, to some extent, following the lead of Premier Carney from Canada last week in balancing our relationship with the United States in a more sensible and appropriate way, given the way President Trump's behaving," he said. 

Cable also mentioned the opportunity for both countries to build stronger economic ties, mentioning how Britain has many industries, goods and services that could benefit China. 

He told CGTN: "Britain, you could say, has a comparative advantage, we're competitive, we have something useful that the Chinese may wish to engage with. We're talking about service sectors, creative industries, financial and professional services, education, where Britain is a major international provider through its universities, as well as specialized areas of manufacturing. 

"Although Britain has heavily de-industrialized, we have some very successful sectors. So it's a mixture, but it's the same mixture. And I think actually, the Chinese are finding a lot of the things that the British offer quite attractive. 

"I think the share of British exports going to China is over five percent. It's more than India, Australia and Japan combined. It's a lot less than the European Union, a lot less than United States, but it's important". 

Starmer laid the foundations for his trip last month when he said that closer business ties were in the national interest.

The visit also comes at a sensitive moment for relations between Western leaders and the United States because of US President Trump's widely dismissed claims that the United States needs to take control of Greenland.