Keir Starmer held an 80-minute meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing, marking the first UK prime ministerial visit to China in eight years. Starmer said China is a key global actor and stressed the need for cooperation alongside dialogue on areas of disagreement, including trade and migration.
Xi described UK–China relations as volatile but said Beijing is ready to build a long-term partnership, calling the visit a positive signal amid global instability. After the talks, Starmer said progress was made on whisky tariffs, visa-free travel, and cooperation on irregular migration, adding that bilateral ties had reached a “good point.”