Keir Starmer opens door to UK visit by Xi Jinping after bilateral talks

Keir Starmer has taken a big step towards rapprochement with China, opening the door to a UK visit from Xi Jinping in a move that drew immediate anger from British critics of Beijing.During the first visit by a UK prime minister to China in eight years – a period which Starmer has described as an “ice age” – he said talks with the Chinese president had left the bilateral relationship in a stronger position.While Starmer and his team were flaunting the results of the trip – including a visa waiver, a cut in whisky tariffs and economic cooperation agreements – there was growing concern in the UK over the prospect of a return visit.While travelling to Beijing, Starmer had said the UK government would remain “clear-eyed and realistic” about national security threats from China, despite Beijing’s espionage activities in the UK and imposition of sanctions on British MPs.But asked whether Starmer would like Xi to visit the UK, his official spokesperson said: “The prime minister has been clear that a reset relationship with China, that it’s no longer in an ice age, is beneficial to British people and British business.”He said the Beijing trip was not a “one and done” summit, indicating there would be more meetings ahead, but added: “I’m not going to get ahead of future engagements, we’ll set those out in the normal way.”Starmer’s three-day visit to China represents a marked shift in the UK’s relations with Beijing, after almost a decade of hostility from Tory administrations and, more recently, concerns over the reliability of the US as a trading partner.Five Conservative MPs, who are some of the most vocal critics of Beijing in parliament, and two peers are among nine Britons who had sanctions imposed on them by China in 2021 in retaliation for measures taken by the UK over human rights abuses against the Uyghur people.It would be politically challenging for Starmer to invite Xi to the UK while the sanctions remained in place – although No 10 said progress had been made on this – and while Chinese diplomats are banned from parliament after a spying row.Starmer thaws China relations: what’s at stake? - The LatestThe first, and last, time Xi travelled to the UK was for a state visit in 2015, at the height of the “golden era” in relations under the then prime minister, David Cameron, when the pair visited a pub near Chequers for a pint of ale.Tim Loughton, a former Tory minister who is one of those sanctioned by China, said offering the president a visit would be a “definite red line and he [Xi] would in any case have to be banned from the parliamentary estate, as is the ambassador while we remain sanctioned”.Another sanctioned politician, Neil O’Brien, a shadow minister for policy, said it would be strange to offer Xi a visit when the Chinese ambassador was “banned from parliament because of multiple rounds of spying on MPs”.“I obviously think the government’s strategy of sucking up to them while they sanction us is a mistake,” he added.Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, said that Xi would be barred from addressing parliament while the sanctions remained in place.“I’m the guardian of MPs. I’m there to protect them from sanctions. It would be wrong to let Xi into their workplace while these sanctions are in place,” he said.Before their talks in the Great Hall of the People, Starmer told Xi he wanted a “broader, deeper and more sophisticated” relationship between the two countries.“It is with the British people in mind that I am here today. I made the promise 18 months ago when we were elected into government that I would make Britain face outwards again.“Because as we all know, events abroad affect everything that happens back in our home countries, from prices on the supermarket shelves to how secure we feel.”The Chinese leader said a closer relationship was “imperative” for world peace, after it had gone through “twists and turns” over the years, arguing that a more “consistent” approach was in both their interests.Xi said the two men would “stand the test of history” if they could “rise above differences”. He appeared to reprimand the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, for her criticism of Starmer’s visit.Starmer shakes hands with Xi before their bilateral meeting in Beijing. Photograph: Carl Court/Reuters“Your visit this time has drawn a lot of attention,” he told the prime minister. “Sometimes good things take time. As long as it is the right thing that serves the fundamental interests of the country and the people, then as leaders we should not shy away from difficulties and we should press ahead.“As long as we take a broad perspective, rise above differences and respect each other, then we will prove ourselves able to stand the test of history,” he added.Starmer had begun the trip by saying he wanted to bring “stability and clarity” to the bilateral relationship after years of “inconsistency” under the Tories.After the talks, he said he had “respectfully” raised human rights abuses including the detention of Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy activist who is facing life in prison in Hong Kong, and the persecution of the Uyghurs.In a significant move, China agreed to a visa waiver for British tourists and business travellers, ending the requirement for travel to be no more than 30 days and bringing the UK into line with 50 other countries.The UK also signed a number of agreements on closer economic cooperation, including greater trade and services, making it easier for British firms to operate there. They included a £10.8bn investment by the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca in its Chinese operation.Beijing also agreed to halve its tariff on Scotch whisky imports from 10% to 5%, estimated to benefit the industry by £250m over five years. It is Scotland’s 10th largest whisky market.The two leaders also discussed the Ukraine war, but Downing Street refused to say whether Starmer – who had spoken to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the eve of the visit – had pressed China to restrain Russia.