By Andrew MacAskill
BEIJING, Jan 29 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that he wanted to build a “sophisticated relationship” with Beijing to boost the UK economy, signalling a reset after years of strained ties.
On the key day of his four-day visit to China, the first by a British prime minister in eight years, Starmer held an 80-minute summit with Xi at the Great Hall of the People before they lunched together. Starmer said the pair chatted about soccer and Shakespeare, as well as business matters.
The British leader will also meet Premier Li Qiang.
Starmer, whose centre-left Labour Party government has struggled to deliver the growth it promised, has made improving relations with the world’s second-largest economy a priority, despite lingering misgivings about espionage and human rights.
“China is a vital player on the global stage, and it’s vital that we build a more sophisticated relationship where we can identify opportunities to collaborate, but of course, also allow a meaningful dialogue on areas where we disagree,” Starmer told Xi at the start of their meeting.
Xi said ties with Britain had gone through “twists and turns” that did not serve the interests of either country and that China was ready to develop a long-term partnership.
“We can deliver a result that can withstand the test of history,” the Chinese leader told Starmer, flanked by his top ministers.
Starmer is the latest Western leader to engage in a flurry of diplomacy with China, as nations hedge against unpredictability from the United States under President Donald Trump.
Trump’s on-off threats of trade tariffs and pledges to grab control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, have rankled long-standing allies like Britain.
Starmer’s visit immediately follows that of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who signed an economic deal with Beijing to tear down trade barriers, drawing Trump’s ire.
The British leader told reporters he had made progress in discussions with China’s leader to reduce tariffs on whisky, while Xi also said China would consider waiving visas for British nationals.
The “relationship is in a good place, a strong place,” said Starmer, who is being accompanied by more than 50 business leaders on the trip.
Asked by a reporter if Xi was someone he could do business with, Starmer replied ‘yes’.
TACKLING MIGRANT SMUGGLING GANGS
Starmer has adopted a new policy of engagement with China after ties deteriorated for years under previous Conservative governments, when London curbed some Chinese investment over national security worries and expressed concern over a crackdown on political freedoms in Hong Kong.
“I made the promise 18 months ago, when we were elected into government, that I would make Britain face outwards again,” Starmer told Xi.
“Because, as we all know, events abroad affect everything that happens back in our home countries, to prices on the supermarket shelves to how secure we feel.”
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party, said on Wednesday she would not have gone to China because of the security risks the country poses.
British security services have said China routinely spies on the government. China has denied the claims.
In a sign of how the countries can work together, Starmer also announced that Britain and China would jointly tackle gangs involved in trafficking illegal migrants.
The deal focuses on reducing the use of Chinese-made engines for small boats that transport people across Europe to claim asylum.
British and Chinese officials will share intelligence to identify smugglers’ supply routes and work with Chinese manufacturers to prevent legitimate businesses from being exploited by organised crime, Downing Street said.
Starmer told reporters he also had a “respectful discussion” with Xi about the case of Jimmy Lai, the former Hong Kong media tycoon and British citizen who was convicted in December of national security crimes.
After arriving in the Chinese capital late Wednesday, Starmer dined at a restaurant known for its mushroom-laden dishes that also hosted former U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during her 2023 visit.
He practiced pronouncing the Chinese word for thank you – ‘xie xie’ – with restaurant staff as he posed for photographs, a video posted on Weibo showed.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill in Beijing; Additional reporting by Colleen Howe in Beijing; Writing by Andrew MacAskill and John Geddie; Editing by Michael Perry)
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