Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday agreed to develop a long-term, stable comprehensive strategic partnership, in a rebuff to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable policies and tariff threats.
During their 80-minute meeting in the Great Hall of the People, watched keenly in Washington, Xi said that the international order has for some time suffered serious disruption, in a veiled attack on Trump’s unpredictable policies.
International law can only be truly effective when all countries, major countries in particular, abide by it. Otherwise, the world would risk regressing to the law of the jungle, he told Starmer, without mentioning the US.
In an apparent reference to Trump’s military action against Venezuela and threats to take over Greenland, which is opposed by Britain, Xi said China will never pose a threat to other countries, no matter how it grows and develops.
Starmer, the first British prime minister to visit China in eight years, described the meeting with Xi as “productive” and said there were “real concrete outcomes”, adding that the UK’s relationship with China is in a “good place, a strong place”.
He said that the delegations made progress on tariffs for whisky, as well as the idea of visa-free travel to China, and on information exchange on “irregular migration” and small boats.
“Organised immigration crime and the business model of the smuggling gangs goes beyond borders, and our approach to shut them down must do the same,” said Starmer.
According to official UK government statistics, more than 60 per cent of all engines used by smuggling gangs last year were found to be branded as Chinese-manufactured engines.
Inflatable dinghies used in small boat crossings across the English Channel, often made using parts sourced in China, have been enabling gangs to pack ever larger numbers onto single vessels, with recent crossings carrying over 100 people in increasingly life-threatening conditions, Downing Street said.
Under the new border security agreement, UK law enforcement agencies are expected to work with Chinese authorities to prevent small boat engines and equipment used in Channel crossings getting into the hands of criminal gangs. It includes intelligence sharing to identify smugglers’ supply routes and direct engagement with Chinese manufacturers to prevent legitimate businesses from being exploited by organised crime.
Both countries are said to have also agreed to “scale up” removals of those with no right to be in the UK and intensify a crackdown on Chinese gangs producing synthetic opioids.
“I think that working together on issues like climate change, global stability during challenging times for the world, is precisely what we should be doing as we build this relationship in the way that I’ve described,” Starmer told Xi.
Both leaders affirmed their shared commitment to building a consistent, long-term, and strategic partnership that will benefit both countries, Downing Street said.
“They agreed they would continue to enhance cooperation on areas of mutual interest, while maintaining frank and open dialogue on areas of disagreement. The Prime Minister raised areas of concern to the UK,” it said.
Starmer, who is accompanied by a delegation of nearly 60 of Britain’s biggest businesses and cultural organisations, said that he hoped new partnerships could be forged and new opportunities unlocked for them in China.
“Growth and prosperity at home is directly linked to our engagement with the world’s biggest powers abroad,” he said.
His maiden visit to China was aimed at repairing the ties damaged over allegations of Chinese spying in Britain, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and the crackdown in Hong Kong – the former British colony that was returned to China in 1997.
The UK also reportedly approved the construction of a sprawling Chinese embassy, stated to be the largest, amid strong criticism.
Xi said China-Britain relations and cooperation to better benefit both peoples and the world at large, and informed Starmer that Beijing is actively considering granting a unilateral visa waiver to British people.
According to British officials, under the offer, UK nationals can visit China for 30 days. This means British people visiting China on business or as tourists will be able to travel without a visa. China’s offer to the UK is in line with 50 other countries, such as France, Germany and Australia.
Xi said there have been “twists and turns” in China-UK ties, but engagement is “unavoidable”.
In a rebuff to Trump’s unilateral policies, Xi told Starmer that China and Britain, as supporters of multilateralism and free trade, should jointly advocate and practice true multilateralism, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
He said the two countries should also facilitate the establishment of a more just and equitable global governance system, to build an equal and orderly multipolar world and realise universally beneficial and inclusive globalisation.
Xi called on the two countries to transcend differences and maintain mutual respect, so that they can translate the promising potential of cooperation into remarkable accomplishments, and open up new vistas for China-Britain relations and cooperation to better benefit both the two peoples and the world at large.
Despite the fanfare, there are no economic game changers so far, the BBC reported.
The two countries, however, signed 10 agreements which included cooperation on Transnational Organised Crime and Illegal Immigration, establishment of a bilateral services partnership, exports from the UK to China, health cooperation, and animal and plant quarantine.
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