The last British prime minister to visit China was Theresa May in 2018. Before the visit, she and her team were advised to get dressed under the covers because of the risk of hidden cameras having been placed in their hotel rooms to record compromising material.
Keir Starmer, in Beijing this week, was more sanguine about his privacy, even though the security risks have, if anything, increased since the former Tory prime minister was in town.
China has been accused of spying on parliament, has sanctioned British MPs and peers, engaged in severe cyber-attacks, adopted aggressive trade practices and generally been, in the government’s own words, an “epoch-defining challenge”.
“I can confirm that I didn’t,” Starmer replied to whether he had taken refuge while getting dressed. “I’ve always said that we need to seize the opportunities, mindful of our national security.”
The prime minister’s instincts are indicative of his broader approach to balancing the risks on this trip – one of the most significant of his time in office.
After years of what Starmer has described as the “ice age” in relations between the UK and China, it was intended to begin the thaw.
But for all the potential offered by closer ties with the world’s second-biggest economy for a country desperate for growth, Beijing does not open the doors for nothing.
While officials stress there was no political involvement, the UK’s decision to green-light the new Chinese mega-embassy in London smoothed the way.
After that, Starmer was given the full works: ceremonial welcome, military march-past, lavish banquet, praise from his host and, crucially , more than three hours of talks with President Xi Jinping.
The prime minister appeared to be getting into the spirit. When Xi’s business secretary greeted him with a deep bow, Starmer looked quizzically at Peter Kyle, his British counterpart. Kyle managed a polite nod.
While there were some tangible gains from the trip – a visa waiver, cuts to whisky tariffs, investment in China by British firms – it was the 10 different agreements signed that will really make the difference.
One British official described them as “jam tomorrow” deals. But the Chinese state is such a bureaucratic monolith that unless the man at the top is signed up, British businesses will struggle to get access to the market.
So while some back home may have asked “was that it?”, in No 10’s view what mattered was the turning up – and a “more sophisticated” future relationship.
Starmer says progress made on tariffs and visa-free travel in Beijing talks – video
“This trip is just the start,” Kyle told a reception at the British embassy on Thursday night.
But a more sophisticated relationship means not just cosying up to China for the sake of our domestic economy – and ending up in a second “golden age” despite Beijing’s aggression.
Before the trip, the prime minister promised he would raise “issues that need to be raised” – including the fate of pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai and the persecuted Uyghur community.
He did raise them, but whether that will have any effect has yet to be seen. There was one clear breakthrough: China lifted its sanctions on six serving British parliamentarians.
While Starmer will be leaving China for the next leg of his trip on Saturday, he will feel that it is job done.
Of course, deepening bilateral relations does not happen in a vacuum, as Donald Trump reminded the UK with his usual bluntness. Starmer’s attempts were “very dangerous”, he warned.
It is the US president’s unreliability, however, that encourages “middle powers” such as Britain, France and Canada to consider their options. China spies an opportunity.
But the biggest challenge for the prime minister waits back at home. While he is at his most comfortable – and some say most effective – on the international stage, it is not lost on his team that he is seen as the very opposite in the UK.
While leadership speculation has abated while he has been out of the country, it has not gone away. When he returns to Westminster on Monday, his many political and policy problems await him.
He has had a confidence boost in China, and is more intent than ever to keep calm and carry on. But he may not get long to do so.
On Wednesday afternoon, as the British Airways plane carrying Starmer and his delegation began its descent into Beijing, a familiar voice came over the cabin’s public address system.
It was the prime minister. “Sit back, enjoy the rest of the flight – I’ll be bringing the plane in from here,” he joked. It remains unclear whether he’ll be able to deliver a safe landing at home.
