British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has launched a four-day visit to China, the first by a UK leader since 2018. He will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, then proceed to Shanghai and Tokyo.
Some 60 executives from British firms and cultural groups are joining him, including those from Airbus, AstraZeneca, HSBC, GSK, Jaguar Land Rover, and the National Theatre. The trip aims to secure trade deals and stabilise economic ties disrupted by prior policy swings.
Preceding visits by Business Secretary Peter Kyle in September 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy laid groundwork for this summit.
“For years, our approach to China has been dogged by inconsistency—blowing hot and cold, from Golden Age to Ice Age, but like it or not, China matters for the UK,” Starmer said ahead of departure. “As one of the world’s biggest economic players, a strategic and consistent relationship with them is firmly in our national interest. That does not mean turning a blind eye to the challenges they pose—but engaging even where we disagree.”
He plans to decry past isolationism, arguing strategic re-engagement bolsters Britain. The UK lags other Western leaders like Canada’s Mark Carney and France’s Emmanuel Macron, who have visited Beijing multiple times since Theresa May’s 2018 trip.
Critics cite human rights abuses in Xinjiang and the case of Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai, plus MI5 warnings of routine Chinese espionage threats. Downing Street said Starmer would raise issues where values clash. A new, vast London embassy for China has sparked alarm, especially with Donald Trump’s April visit looming.
Conservative shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel condemned the approach. “Starmer has already surrendered to the Chinese Communist Party over their plan for a spy-hub super embassy in the heart of our capital,” she said.
“The evidence is overwhelming that China poses a serious threat to our national security and it is clear Starmer is going to China without any leverage. He lacks the backbone to stand up for Britain and is bending over backwards to appease Beijing.”
The leaders previously met at the 2024 G20 in Rio de Janeiro. Starmer ends the tour with Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.