\n<\/p>\n
The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has said the UK\u2019s relationship with his country has gone through \u201ctwists and turns\u201d over the years but that a more \u201cconsistent\u201d approach is in both their interests.<\/p>\n
Before talks with Keir Starmer during the first visit to China by a British prime minister in eight years, Xi said the two men would \u201cstand the test of history\u201d if they could \u201crise above differences\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi also appeared to reprimand Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, who has criticised Starmer for travelling to China.<\/p>\n
There has been cross-party concern about China\u2019s spying activities in the UK \u2013 the travelling No 10 delegation is using burner phones \u2013 and Beijing\u2019s human rights abuses.<\/p>\n
However, Starmer began the trip by saying he wanted to bring \u201cstability and clarity\u201d to the bilateral relationship after years of \u201cinconsistency\u201d under the Tories when it went from \u201cgolden age to ice age\u201d.<\/p>\n
After their meeting, Starmer said the talks had been productive and the relationship between the countries was in a \u201cgood, strong place\u201d. He made a series of announcements that could unlock new opportunities for British businesses.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The UK also signed a number of agreements with China on closer economic cooperation, including greater trade and services, making it easier for British firms to operate there. They included a $15bn (\u00a310.8bn) 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 \u00a3250m over five years, Downing Street said.<\/p>\n
No 10 said the meeting was constructive on a number of issues, including the fate of the jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai \u2013 whose release the UK has urged \u2013 and the lifting of sanctions on British MPs and peers.<\/p>\n
The leaders discussed the Ukraine conflict, and were \u201cquite clear they have the same goal\u201d of ending the war, with peace talks playing a part. But No 10 would not say whether Starmer \u2013 who spoke to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the eve of his visit \u2013 had pressed Xi to try to restrain Russia.<\/p>\n
With Starmer under pressure at home not to sacrifice national security for the sake of closer economic ties with the world\u2019s second-biggest economy, Downing Street confirmed that security had been discussed more broadly. It said there had been constructive discussions on rebuilding the UK embassy in Beijing.<\/p>\n
In opening remarks before their talks, Xi told Starmer: \u201cYour visit this time has drawn a lot of attention. 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs 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,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Xi acknowledged that the UK-China relationship had experienced \u201ctwists and turns\u201d over the years that had not served the interests of either country.<\/p>\n
Against a backdrop of Donald Trump\u2019s ambitions for Greenland, tensions with Iran and Vladimir Putin\u2019s war in Ukraine, Xi suggested that in such a turbulent world it was essential both countries worked together for \u201cworld peace\u201d.<\/p>\n
Describing the state of the world as \u201cturbulent and fluid\u201d, Xi said more dialogue between the UK and China was \u201cimperative\u201d, whether it was \u201cfor the sake of world peace and stability\u201d or for both economies.<\/p>\n
Starmer told Xi he wanted a \u201cmore sophisticated\u201d relationship. \u201cIt 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the UK-China Business Council later, Starmer told delegates Xi had recounted a story about blind men being presented with an elephant. \u201cOne touches the leg and thinks it\u2019s a pillow, another feels the belly and thinks it\u2019s a wall,\u201d he went on.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd too often this reflects how China is seen. But I profoundly believe that broader and deeper engagement \u2026 is our way of seeing the whole elephant and therefore building a more sophisticated relationship fit for these times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Xi praised former Labour governments, under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, for working constructively on bilateral relations.<\/p>\n
The meeting between the two men ran to 80 minutes, almost double the allotted time, followed by private talks between Xi, his foreign minister, Starmer and his national security adviser, Jonathan Powell. This was followed by lunch in the ornate Golden Hall, where, along with global affairs, they discussed William Shakespeare and football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has said the UK\u2019s relationship with his country has gone through \u201ctwists and turns\u201d over the years but that a more \u201cconsistent\u201d approach is in both their interests. Before talks with Keir Starmer during the first visit to China by a British prime minister in eight years, Xi said the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[4261,1048,22603,459,1346,135,582,313,1347,272,22602],"class_list":{"0":"post-43105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics","8":"tag-chinese","9":"tag-countries","10":"tag-differences","11":"tag-hopes","12":"tag-keir","13":"tag-leader","14":"tag-meeting","15":"tag-rise","16":"tag-starmer","17":"tag-tells","18":"tag-xistarmer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}