British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing on Jan. 28 for an official visit to China through Jan. 31He is accompanied by 60 business leaders. Global Times notes that ahead of the trip, Starmer said that the U.K. would not be forced to “choose between” China and the U.S., “a stance widely seen as reflecting a more rational British diplomatic approach amid a shifting international landscape.” Global Times comments: “In the face of an ‘unpredictable’ U.S., Western countries are increasingly seeking greater ‘predictability’ in their external relations. Against this backdrop, Starmer’s remarks can be seen as keeping pace with a range of latest statements by Western leaders—or, put differently, as a sign that Britain has finally come to its senses.”
Starmer’s visit, coming just two weeks after that of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, should be seen not as a great, pro-China revelation, but as part of the scramble on the part of Western elites to secure positions in the wake of the “unreliability” of U.S. policies under Trump.
On the U.K.-China relationship, Global Times acknowledges quite practically, that relations have been strained during the eight years since the last U.K. Prime Minister visited China, but adds: “Even during the ‘Ice Age,’ overall China-U.K. trade and economic exchanges continued to show a clear upward trend. Data show that China is the U.K.’s fourth-largest trading partner in 2025, with trade totaling approximately $137 billion.” They continue: “An increasing number of perceptive figures in the West have come to realize that blindly following a single hegemon and severing global connections ultimately undermines their own countries’ development and prosperity. This Cold War mentality has severely eroded the foundation of global strategic stability and cooperation.”
