Starmer to Visit China on Three-Day Finance Mission Amid U.S. Tensions

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will leave on Tuesday for a three-day, finance-focused visit to Beijing and Shanghai aimed at securing trade and investment from China to bolster Britain’s lagging economy and his Labour Party’s standing. Mr. Starmer, who took office 18 months ago pledging to improve relations with China, is the first British prime minister to visit since 2018.

He is being accompanied by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Trade Secretary Peter Kyle and several leading financial services CEOs. British officials say the trip is intended to produce deals that can spur economic recovery. The visit comes as relations between the United States and its Western allies grow volatile: President Trump recently threatened a 100 percent tariff on Canada over a perceived trade move involving China, and there has been public scrutiny of closer ties with Beijing.

There is no indication that Canada and China are discussing a broad economic agreement, the Times reported, though Mark Carney agreed to lower tariffs on some Chinese electric vehicles on a recent visit. Political tensions at home complicate the mission. The political consensus in much of Britain has become more critical of China over national security, human rights and the dumping of cheap products, and British approval of a new Chinese embassy was said by Chinese analysts and Chinese state media to have been a condition of Mr.

Starmer’s trip.

Key Topics

World, Keir Starmer, China, Beijing, Shanghai, Rachel Reeves