Keir Starmer’s China trip to test Labour’s push for ‘reset’ in bilateral ties

In an era of ruptured global order, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s much-anticipated visit to China, scheduled for later this week, marks the culmination of London’s “re-engagement” strategy with Beijing, prioritising trade and growth amid escalating geopolitical risks, according to observers.

Beijing said on Friday that Starmer would visit from January 29 to 31. A Downing Street spokesman confirmed the dates on Monday, telling reporters “he will depart for his travel to China and Japan on Tuesday night”, according to Agence France-Presse.

It will be the first China trip by a British prime minister since 2018 and comes after the last-minute approval of a Chinese mega embassy in London.

The visit will serve as a critical test of whether Starmer’s push for a pragmatic “reset” can endure. His Labour Party must navigate the predicament facing Britain: how to hedge between an increasingly coercive Washington under US President Donald Trump and a Beijing long labelled a “national security threat”.

Boosting economic and trade ties with China – the world’s second-largest economy and London’s third-biggest trading partner – is expected to top Starmer’s agenda when he travels to Beijing and Shanghai.

Reuters reported last week that the two sides were in talks to revive a high-level business dialogue, bringing together leading firms from both countries during the trip. The initiative would be modelled on the “UK-China CEO Council” first launched in 2018, the news agency said, citing unnamed sources.

Yet it remains to be seen how Starmer will handle contentious issues, including human rights in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, as well as the Ukraine war and the role of Chinese firms, such as Huawei Technologies, in Britain’s critical infrastructure.

South China Morning Post