Beijing (AFP) - Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed “really good progress” on issues including visa-free travel and tariffs during talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday.

Starmer’s visit to China is the first by a British premier since 2018 and follows a slew of Western leaders seeking a rapprochement with Beijing recently, pivoting from an increasingly unpredictable United States.

Xi and Starmer met at the opulent Great Hall of the People and both stressed the need for closer relations in order to face geopolitical headwinds.

Starmer told Xi that China is a “vital player on the global stage” and that they needed to “build a more sophisticated relationship where we identify opportunities to collaborate”.

The Chinese leader also stressed the need for stronger ties with a “long-term view” in the context of what he called a “complex” international situation.

Starmer, who is in China until Saturday, later told reporters that the bilateral relationship was in “a strong place”, with progress made on issues such as whisky tariffs.

Downing Street said whisky exported to China would now be subject to a five-percent tariff, down from 10 percent.

The Scotch Whisky Association welcomed the move, saying it “has the potential to re-energise exports” to what it called “a priority growth market”.

- Visa deal -

Starmer signed a series of cooperation agreements after meeting Premier Li Qiang, with Downing Street announcing Beijing had agreed to visa-free travel for British passport holders visiting China for under 30 days.

That brings Britain in line with about 50 other countries allowed visa-free access, including France, Germany, Australia and Japan, and follows a similar agreement made between China and Canada this month.

The agreements also included cooperation on targeting supply chains used by migrant smugglers, as well as on British exports to China, health and strengthening a UK-China trade commission.

The issue of irregular migrants is highly sensitive for Starmer, who has promised to crack down on people smugglers and stem a wave of arrivals that has fuelled rising support for the far right.

Starmer will also travel to economic powerhouse Shanghai on Friday before making a brief stop in Japan to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Beijingers told AFP that Starmer’s trip, as well as recent visits by other Western leaders, showed increased desire for economic cooperation with China.

Resident Xie Yu, who lived in London as a graduate student, said European economies have been hit hard by Trump’s tariffs and were “struggling”.

Xie said he hoped more Chinese would have the chance to study abroad as he did.

“Exchanges between young people can help be a foundation for overall ties between the two countries in the future.”

- Economic cooperation -

Relations between China and the UK deteriorated from 2020 when Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong and cracked down on pro-democracy activists in the former British colony.

Nevertheless, China – the world’s second-largest economy – remains Britain’s third-largest trading partner.

Starmer is accompanied by around 60 business leaders as well as cultural representatives, as his centre-left Labour government looks to fulfil its primary goal of boosting UK economic growth.

British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced during the visit it would invest $15 billion in China through 2030, hailing the country as “a critical contributor to scientific innovation”.

Challenges to the bilateral relationship remain.

Starmer told reporters that he had also discussed with Xi the case of Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, 78, who is facing years in prison after being found guilty of collusion charges in December.

“We did have a respectful discussion about that,” Starmer said, adding that he and Chinese leaders also talked about the treatment of Uyghurs.

Beijing has been accused of detaining more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims since 2017.

Alleged spying and cyber attacks, and China’s perceived support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, have also strained ties.

Opposition UK politicians have criticised the trip, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch responding to speculation Xi could now visit Britain.

“We should not roll out the red carpet for a state that conducts daily espionage in our country, flouts international trading rules and aids Putin in his senseless war on Ukraine,” she said.

The visit by Starmer, who took the helm in 2024, follows finance minister Rachel Reeves’s trip to Beijing last year.

Starmer’s trip comes as Britain faces a rift with its closest ally, the United States, following Trump’s bid to seize Greenland and his brief threat of tariffs against Britain and other NATO allies.

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