A meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday (Jan. 28) did not produce any big business deal for the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer despite approving the massive Chinese embassy in London.
“China is a vital player on the global stage and it’s vital that we build a more sophisticated relationship,” Starmer said during his meeting with the Chinese counterparts.
Starmer had brought along more than 50 business and cultural leaders in an effort to revive the U.K.’s slowing economy.
China has agreed to cut tariffs on British whiskey to 5%, from 10%.
Both countries also agreed to share intelligence to stop smugglers from using Chinese-made engines to transport migrants across the English Channel.
The countries will also explore a potential deal to set clear rules for U.K. firms doing business in China.
U.K. global drugmaker AstraZeneca has pledged a US$15 billion (SG$19 billion) investment, set to expand the company’s manufacturing footprint in China.
On the subject of human rights, Starmer said he held a respectful discussion with Xi on the case of Jimmy Lai, a British citizen and former Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon.
Lai faces a potential life sentence following his conviction under Hong Kong’s National Security law implemented by the Chinese Communist Party in 2020.
Starmer’s team reportedly brought burner phones and laptops to prevent China from spying.
The move came after a telegraph report that China hacked the phones of aides to former prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Chris Phillips criticized Starmer’s visit saying he is trading off the U.K.’s national security to get a few economic crumbs from Xi’s table.
British Liberal Democrat politician Callum Miller told BBC that Starmer’s approach is all give and no take.
He said, “Many British firms want Chinese business but the public also wants to know the Prime Minister is standing up for national security.”
Before Starmer’s visit, the U.K. approved plans for a massive Chinese embassy in central London despite concerns it could aid Beijing espionage.
