Britain’s Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing on January 28th for a four-day official visit, marking the first such trip by a UK head of government since 2018. The jaunt comes amid rising geopolitical tensions, including strategic distrust between China and the United States, technological competition, and a gradual decoupling of key national economies.

Starmer met with Chinese president Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People. During talks, Starmer hailed “really good progress” on issues including visa-free travel and tariffs. He described China as a “vital player on the global stage” and stressed the need to

[BQ] build a more sophisticated relationship where we identify opportunities to collaborate.

The PM also held talks with Premier Li Qiang, resulting in a series of agreements. These included visa-free travel for British passport holders visiting China for up to 30 days and reduced tariffs on exports such as whisky, halving the duty from 10% to 5%.

Starmer also reaffirmed that the UK will continue to maintain close security and defence ties with the United States, while seeking pragmatic engagement with China. The visit will continue with a stop in Shanghai on Friday before PM Starmer heads to Japan to meet his counterpart Sanae Takaichi.