Britain's Starmer seeks to bolster China ties despite Trump warning

Visiting Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that Britain has a "huge amount to offer" China, after his bid to forge closer ties prompted warnings from US President Donald Trump.

The first visit to China by a British prime minister in eight years, Starmer's trip follows in the footsteps of other Western leaders looking to counter an increasingly volatile United States.

Leaders from France, Canada and Finland have flocked to Beijing in recent weeks, recoiling from Trump's bid to seize Greenland and tariff threats against NATO allies.

Trump warned on Thursday it was "very dangerous" for Britain to be dealing with China.

Asked about the comments on Friday, Beijing's foreign ministry said that "China is willing to strengthen cooperation with all countries in the spirit of mutual benefit and win-win results".

Starmer met top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday, with both sides highlighting the need for closer ties.

On Friday, Starmer told business representatives from Britain and China that both sides had "warmly engaged" and "made some real progress".

"The UK has got a huge amount to offer," he said in a short speech at the UK-China Business Forum at the Bank of China.

The meetings the previous day provided "just the level of engagement that we hoped for", Starmer said.

He signed a series of agreements on Thursday, with Downing Street announcing Beijing had agreed to visa-free travel for British citizens visiting China for under 30 days.

But when asked for confirmation on Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry only said it was "actively considering" the visa deal and would "make it public at an appropriate time upon completing the necessary procedures".

Starmer hailed the agreements as "symbolic of what we're doing with the relationship".

From Beijing he travelled to economic powerhouse Shanghai, where he spoke with Chinese students at the Shanghai International College of Fashion and Innovation, a joint institute between Donghua University and the University of Edinburgh.

Starmer will continue his Asia trip with a brief stop in Japan on Saturday to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Visas and whisky

The visa deal could bring Britain in line with about 50 other countries granted visa-free travel, including France, Germany, Australia and Japan, and follows a similar agreement made between China and Canada this month.

The agreements signed included cooperation on targeting supply chains used by migrant smugglers, as well as on British exports to China, health and strengthening a bilateral trade commission.

China also agreed to reduce tariffs on British whisky to five percent, down from 10 percent, according to Downing Street.

Xi told Starmer on Thursday that their countries should strengthen dialogue and cooperation in the context of a "complex and intertwined" international situation.

Relations between China and the UK deteriorated from 2020 when Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong and cracked down on pro-democracy activists in the former British colony.

However, China -- the world's second-largest economy -- remains Britain's third-largest trading partner, and Starmer is hoping deals with Beijing will help fulfil his primary goal of boosting UK economic growth.

British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca said Thursday that it would invest $15 billion in China through 2030 to expand its medicines manufacturing and research.

Its chief executive Pascal Soriot, part of a delegation of around 60 business leaders accompanying Starmer, said "China... has become a critical contributor to scientific innovation, advanced manufacturing, and global public health."

British PM says China lifted sanctions on UK lawmakers

Starmer said on Friday China has agreed to lift sanctions on five UK MPs and two peers targeted for their criticism of alleged human rights abuses against the Uyghur minority group.

The lawmakers were barred from entering China and Chinese entities were forbidden from doing business with them in 2021. Beijing accused them of spreading "lies and disinformation" over China's treatment of the Muslim Uyghur minority in its Xinjiang region.

Those affected included high-profile China hawks Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, and Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary until 2016.

"I raised that issue... and the Chinese are absolutely clear in response, the restrictions no longer apply. President Xi said to me that that means all parliamentarians are welcome," Starmer said during an interview with UK television.

"That shows that if you engage, you can raise the difficult issues," he said.

Beijing has been accused of detaining more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims since 2017, part of a campaign that the United Nations has said could constitute "crimes against humanity".

China vehemently denies the allegations, saying its policies have rooted out extremism in Xinjiang and boosted economic development.