UK Prime Minister to Visit China for First Time in 8 Years... China Calls on British Firms to Boost Cooperation in Services Sector

As UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to visit China-the first such visit by a British prime minister in eight years-the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has announced plans to promote cooperation with British companies in the services sector.

Yonhap News Agency

According to the Ministry of Commerce on January 24, Vice Minister Ling Ji held a roundtable discussion the previous day with Lewis Neal, UK Trade Commissioner to China, as well as representatives from more than 30 British companies and associations, including Swire Group, HSBC, and InterContinental Hotels, to hear their views.

At the event, Vice Minister Ling stated, "In recent years, economic and trade cooperation between China and the UK has grown steadily, demonstrating both resilience and vitality. The industries of both countries are highly complementary, so we must continue to deepen trade and investment cooperation and uphold a spirit of collaboration and mutual benefit."

He added that China will focus on further opening up the services sector during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), and welcomed British companies, as a major player in global services trade, to seize this opportunity and expand their investment in China. He emphasized, "China will work together with the UK to promote cooperation in the services sector and create new growth drivers for bilateral economic and trade relations."

This roundtable was held amid a series of foreign media reports that Prime Minister Starmer is expected to visit China at the end of this month, marking the first visit by a British prime minister since Theresa May in 2018. Prime Minister Starmer is reportedly scheduled to visit Beijing next week, leading an economic delegation comprised of chief executive officers from major companies.

Although neither the Chinese nor UK governments have officially announced Prime Minister Starmer's visit, Hong Kong media outlet HK01, citing sources, reported that Starmer will visit China for three days starting January 29, with plans to visit both Beijing and Shanghai.

Foreign media have also reported that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter Kyle are expected to accompany the prime minister, interpreting this as an effort by the UK to strengthen ties with China amid tensions with the Donald Trump administration in the United States.

Relations between China and the UK had been strained under previous Conservative governments, as the UK took a hard line on issues such as human rights, Hong Kong, and espionage allegations. However, since the Labour Party led by Prime Minister Starmer took power in July 2024, relations have improved. Despite criticism that the Starmer administration is downplaying national security threats and human rights issues, it has pushed for a 'pragmatic' approach to improving ties with China.

In particular, high-level dialogue between China and the UK has increased since the start of Trump’s second administration. Recently, the UK approved the construction of a new Chinese embassy in central London, a plan that had been on hold for a long time due to security concerns.