Starmer: We can't be forced to choose between the US and China
Starmer: We can't be forced to choose between the US and China
While UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that there are "significant opportunities" for British companies ahead of his visit to Beijing this week, the United Kingdom will not have to choose between the United States and China.
In an interview with Bloomberg before leaving for China, Starmer denied allegations that the United Kingdom tried to establish stronger ties with China by sacrificing relations with its closest allies.
Starmer's visit to China (the first visit of a British prime minister in eight years) comes immediately after his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney shakes hands with Beijing after receiving new tariff threats from US President Donald Trump.
Starmer noted:
“I am often asked to choose between countries. I'm not doing this. I remember making a trade deal with the US, everyone told me that I had to make a choice between the US and Europe, and I said, 'I won't make this choice.'”
The long-awaited trip to China will provide some relief for Starmer, who is behind in public opinion polls in his country and is facing a leadership struggle this year.
Starmer's visit to Beijing is part of the Labour Party's election promise to re-fix relations that have become tense due to Hong Kong, Covid-19 and espionage-over.
The Starmer government has tried to resolve disputes between the two sides in recent months, and especially last week, paving the way for the visit by approving China's plan to establish a major embassy in London.
Starmer rejected the idea that his country had to make concessions in his approach to the two countries, stressing that he could meet with President Xi Jinping without angering Trump or disrupting relations with the US.
He also made it clear that he did not want to give the same kind of message as Carney, who called on middle-power countries in Davos last week to come together to survive in what he called the "new era of the competition of the great powers."
“We have very close relations with the United States ... and we will maintain these relations as well as security and defense,” Starmer argued that the Kingdom can get the best from both worlds.
“Likewise, it would not make sense to ignore China, the world's second-largest economy and offering job opportunities, and bury your head in the sand,” the prime minister said.
Starmer, who came to power by promising not to take back Brexit despite being against the United Kingdom's departure from the EU, tried to expand relations with multiple trade blocs at the same time.
Thanks to this, London has signed a historic trade agreement with its fast-growing former colony India and reduced bureaucratic barriers with the EU, but the framework agreement with the US announced by Starmer and Trump in May is blocked due to long negotiations.
In the 2010s, former Prime Minister David Cameron promised a "golden age" with China, but by the end of this decade, relations had deteriorated.
The United Kingdom had a trade of 93 billion dollars with China in 2024, while trading with the USA worth 141 billion dollars.
Starmer preferred to trivialize ongoing disputes over national security or human rights, such as China imprisoning former British newspaper boss Jimmy Lai for allegedly collaborating with foreign powers.
Starmer says he will voice such concerns when he meets with Chinese leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, this week, but he openly prioritizes economic relations. During his visit to Beijing and Shanghai, the Prime Minister takes about 60 leaders from companies, universities and cultural institutions with him.
Starmer said about the delegation, “They understand the opportunities available. This does not mean sacrificing national security, on the contrary," he said.
Evaluating last week's turbulent diplomatic developments with the US, which started with Trump's threats to the UK and other European countries with customs duties on Greenland and then softened, Starmer said that he had a "mature" relationship with the president.
On Friday, Starmer condemned the U.S. president's comments that underestimated the role of NATO troops in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, saying they were “a little far from the front.”
The US president later praised the British military in a social media post, although he avoided the apology that Starmer wanted.
Starmer said, "There were a series of difficulties last week. We approached these with our British pragmatism, British common sense and commitment to British principles and values, as a result, the weekend was better than the beginning of the week," he said.
Nevertheless, the prime minister stated that with the Trump administration moving away from the continent, the United Kingdom should establish closer military ties with Europe and signaled that it would listen to those who want to increase defense spending.
“I think Europe should be stronger in its own defense and security,” Starmer said, calling for closer cooperation between the continent's armies.
Starmer said he spoke on the phone with Trump over the weekend about Ukraine and needs America's support to ensure the security of both Kiev and Europe.
Arguing that Ukraine is "a very good example" of the need to maintain a very close relationship between Britain and the United States, the British leader stressed that Kiev's allies "made progress this year" by advancing security guarantees with the US, but said that negotiations with Russia on territory continue to be "challenges".