By Saadet Gokce
ISTANBUL (AA) - UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday hailed “productive” talks and “concrete outcomes” from his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, saying the visit was driven by Britain’s “national interest.”
"We had a very good, productive session with real, concrete outcomes and it was a real strengthening of the relationship and that’s in the national interest, because, of course, there are huge opportunities here in China as the second biggest economy in the world, and that’s why we’ve got such a big business delegation,” Starmer said at a news conference after the talks.
He said progress had been made on whisky tariffs, visa-free travel to China, and information exchange and cooperation on “irregular migration, focusing particularly on small boats and engine parts.”
More than 60% of small boat engines seized from smuggling gangs last year were found to be manufactured in China, according to Downing Street, as cited by the BBC.
Starmer, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, said the visit aimed to create opportunities that would benefit the UK economy.
The trip marks the first visit by a British prime minister to China since 2018 and comes amid tensions over US tariffs and strains among Western allies on a range of geopolitical issues including US ambitions in Greenland.
Starmer is accompanied by around 60 representatives from business, academia and cultural sectors.
He is scheduled to travel to the Shanghai metropolitan area on Friday before flying to Tokyo over the weekend for a planned summit with Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi, though the trip has not yet been confirmed.
The UK was the “first Western major country to recognize” China in 1950, and the two sides upgraded relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in May 2004, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
With bilateral trade reaching $98.36 billion in 2024, the two countries have also established high-level exchange mechanisms, including the Annual Prime Minister’s Meeting, Economic and Financial Dialogue, Strategic Dialogue and High-Level People-to-People Dialogue.