From 28 to 31 January 2026, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid a three-day state visit to China. This was the first official visit by a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to China in eight years since Prime Minister Theresa May's visit in 2018. Starmer's trip was seen as an important step in the Labour government's reshaping of its China policy. Its main goal was to repair the bilateral relationship that had fallen into a slump in recent years and to seek to establish a cooperation framework that he described as "more mature" and with long-term stability.
Against the backdrop of rapid changes in the global political and economic environment and the uncertain prospects of United States foreign policy, Keir Starmer pointed out that the United Kingdom could not ignore China as the world's second-largest economy. He said the UK government would pragmatically seize the opportunity for economic cooperation with China while adhering to the bottom line of national security. During his visit, Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing. The two sides agreed to establish a "long-term, consistent comprehensive strategic partnership" as an institutional basis for stabilizing and improving bilateral relations. This high-level interaction also occurred at a time when US President Donald Trump adopted a more unpredictable trade and diplomatic stance toward allies and China, prompting several Western countries to reassess and strengthen their engagement with Beijing.
China and the UK announced a number of trade and economic arrangements, including China providing British citizens with a 30-day visa-free entry, lowering import tariffs on Scotch whisky, and British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announcing a large-scale investment in China. In addition, the two sides also exchanged views on global security, climate change and combating human trafficking, and explored cooperation opportunities. Although the trip was described by the British side as a "reset" of diplomatic relations, Starmer still raised concerns about several sensitive issues during the talks, including the legal case of Jimmy Lai and the human rights situation in Xinjiang. His stance also sparked debate in the UK, with some Conservative Party politicians questioning the potential security risks of the trip and criticizing the government's China policy.
Background
China–United Kingdom relations
China–United Kingdom relations reached their peak in 2015 during the administration of Prime Minister David Cameron, a period known as the "Golden Era", when the two sides announced the establishment of a global strategic partnership for the 21st century. However, in the years that followed, as Beijing strengthened its control over Hong Kong affairs, the British government banned Chinese investment in sensitive telecommunications infrastructure, and British suspicions of Chinese espionage and economic interference in the UK rose, bilateral relations deteriorated rapidly. Keir Starmer once described this period as an "ice age".
In November 2025, MI5 issued a warning that Chinese intelligence agencies were contacting and attempting to recruit British members of parliament through the social media platform LinkedIn. In December 2025, Jimmy Lai, a British citizen and founder of Next Digital, was convicted in a case involving the Hong Kong national security law, which further exacerbated tensions between the two sides and became one of the issues of great concern in British public opinion on the eve of Keir Starmer's visit to China.
Labour government's China policy After the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer came to power, it conducted a comprehensive review of its China policy and proposed a framework for China based on the "3Cs framework", namely "Cooperate, Competition and Challenge". According to this concept, the UK will cooperate with China in areas of common interest such as climate change and global public health, maintain competition in terms of economic influence, and take a clear stance on human rights and national security issues, and pursue a policy orientation of risk reduction rather than decoupling.
At the domestic level, given the sluggish economic growth and declining investment levels in the UK since Brexit in 2016, the government of Keir Starmer regards improving economic relations with major trading partners, especially trade with China, as one of the important means to stimulate economic growth.
China's "super embassy"
On the eve of the visit, the British government approved China's plan to build a "super embassy" on the site of the Royal Mint Court in London. Because the site was close to the key communications cables in the City of London, it raised concerns about potential eavesdropping risks and was strongly criticized by the opposition and some media. The Daily Mail even criticized the government of Starmer with the title "Kow-tow Keir".
International geopolitical environment Starmer's trip was also placed in a broader international context. With Donald Trump's re-election as US president, his tariff threats and remarks on Greenland's sovereignty have impacted the relationship between the US and its traditional allies. At the same time, China's rapid development in life sciences, artificial intelligence and environmental protection technologies has led the UK to assess that the risks of completely avoiding contact with China may outweigh the costs of limited contact.
Under these circumstances, leaders of many countries have successively launched diplomatic missions to visit China, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, French President Emmanuel Macron and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, in order to diversify economic risks and readjust their policies toward China. Starmer has also been described by some analysts as facing a "three-body problem", that is, he needs to maintain a balance in relations with the United States, the European Union and China at the same time.
On the security front, the UK seeks to cooperate with China on security matters, including combating cross-border smuggling groups and curbing the supply chain of illicit synthetic opioids. The UK also informed the US of the visit arrangements in advance, reiterating that it remains highly vigilant in key infrastructure areas such as wind power and electric vehicle technology, while trying to strike a balance between national security and diversifying economic risks.
The visit
Beijing (28–29 January)
On the evening of 28 January 2026, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer led a delegation to Beijing for a three-day visit to China. The main objective of the trip was to promote the restoration of Sino-British trade relations and to seek to establish what the British side described as a "more mature" bilateral interaction model. The delegation consisted of about 60 members, including government officials and National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell, as well as senior managers from companies such as HSBC, Rolls-Royce, AstraZeneca and Jaguar Land Rover. However, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves did not accompany the delegation. To reduce potential risks, the British delegation adopted strict information security measures during the trip, such as using disposable communication devices and restricting the carrying of smart devices to prevent eavesdropping and network intrusion. On his first night in Beijing, Keir Starmer dined at a Yunnan restaurant in Sanlitun, ordering 13 dishes including porcini mushrooms.
On 29 January, Starmer held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The meeting lasted about 80 minutes. In his speech, Xi said that the Sino-British relationship has experienced fluctuations in recent years, which is not in the interests of both sides. He quoted Mao Zedong's poem "Look at things from a long-term perspective" and called on the two countries to view cooperation and differences from a long-term perspective. He praised Labour governments having "made important contributions to the growth of China-UK relations". In order to show their willingness to improve relations, both sides also made adjustments in diplomatic details. For example, Xi used simultaneous interpretation in the meeting instead of the sentence-by-sentence translation method used in his previous meetings with Theresa May. This was regarded as a symbolic arrangement to improve communication efficiency. Starmer behaved solemnly and took notes during the meeting. He emphasized that that the UK hopes to establish a stable relationship with China and pointed out that changes in the international situation will directly affect the British economy and national security.
During the talks, Keir Starmer confirmed that he had raised the case of British citizen Jimmy Lai and the issue of Uyghur human rights with Xi, and described the two sides as having a respectful discussion on the relevant issues, but did not disclose the specific content of the Chinese response. In addition, Starmer, an Arsenal fan, presented Xi Jinping with a football used in a Manchester United F.C. vs. Arsenal match and signed by the player. It was reported that Xi revealed during the talks that he was a Manchester United fan. The New York Times reported in May 2026 that Starmer had asked about China's diplomatic crisis with Japan, with Xi telling Starmer that the tensions were entirely Japan's fault. After the talks, the two sides announced several areas of cooperation, including China studying the reduction of import tariffs on Scotch whisky, providing British passport holders with a visa-free period of up to 30 days, and strengthening intelligence cooperation related to combating illegal immigration smuggling tools. Subsequently, Starmer also met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji.
That afternoon, Keir Starmer visited the Forbidden City in Beijing. The tour was conducted by a guide, and no senior Chinese officials were seen accompanying him. The scenic area was not cleared of visitors.
Shanghai (30–31 January)
On January 30, Keir Starmer traveled to Shanghai to visit Yu Garden and the Bund, and attended a business exchange symposium organized by the China-UK Business Council, where he met with business representatives from China and the UK. During the meeting, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot announced that the company plans to invest approximately CN¥100 billion (approximately £10.4 billion) in China by 2030, focusing on the construction of drug research and development and production facilities.
During his trip, Keir Starmer also met with British actress Rosamund Pike as part of promoting cultural exchange. After completing his visit to China, Keir Starmer went to Tokyo, Japan on 31 January to have a working dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and continue his Asian diplomatic trip.
Results
Economic cooperation and market access
According to the summary published by 10 Downing Street, the UK and China reached several trade and economic agreements during the visit, including export agreements worth approximately £2.2 billion and market access arrangements worth approximately £2.3 billion over the next five years. At the industry level, China agreed to reduce the import tariff on Scotch whisky from 10% to 5%, which the UK estimated would bring an additional £250 million in revenue to the UK economy over five years.