Starmer set for 4-day China visit, 1st by British premier since 2018

Starmer will arrive in China on Wednesday at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.

“Amid a turbulent international situation and as permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and the UK need to maintain communication and enhance cooperation. This serves to global peace, stability, and development,” Guo said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will host Starmer for talks, besides Li and top Chinese lawmaker Zhao Leji.

Starmer will also visit Shanghai, Guo added.

This would be the first trip to China by any British prime minister since 2018, when former UK Premier Theresa May visited the world’s second-largest economy.

Under Starmer’s Labour Party government, in power since 2024, top officials from the two sides have visited each other over the past year, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves.

Starmer’s trip also comes after the Labour Party government, despite criticism, approved the construction of a new complex for the Chinese Embassy in London.

It also assumes significance amid tensions over US tariffs, as well as the Trump administration's ambitions to acquire the Danish territory of Greenland.

The UK was the “first Western major country to recognize” Beijing in 1950, and the two sides upgraded ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in May 2004, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

With an annual bilateral trade volume of $98.36 billion in 2024, the two sides also instituted high-level exchange mechanisms, including the Annual Prime Minister’s Meeting, Economic and Financial Dialogue, Strategic Dialogue, and High-Level People-to-People Dialogue.