UK PM Starmer meets Chinese President Xi Jinping, affirms long-term strategic partnership

BEIJING: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, on Thursday met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, with both leaders affirming their commitment to building a “long-term and strategic partnership” while maintaining open dialogue on areas of disagreement

In a post on X, Starmer said, “Growth at home is directly linked to our engagement with the world’s biggest powers. Today I met with President Xi in Beijing. We affirmed our shared commitment to building a long-term and strategic partnership that will benefit both our countries, while maintaining frank and open dialogue on areas of disagreement. As Prime Minister, I will always deliver in the interest of the British people”.

Growth at home is directly linked to our engagement with the world’s biggest powers.

Today I met with President Xi in Beijing. We affirmed our shared commitment to building a long-term and strategic partnership that will benefit both our countries, while maintaining frank and… pic.twitter.com/VBubyC1oZi

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 29, 2026

As per China Daily, President Xi emphasised cooperation with the UK in sectors such as education and finance. According to China Daily, Xi also urged joint research and industrial transformation across sectors, including artificial intelligence, bioscience, new energy, and low-carbon technologies.

Al Jazeera reported that the last trip by a UK Prime Minister to China was in 2018 when Theresa May visited Beijing. It noted that the relationship between London and Beijing has remained strained since the launch of the political crackdown in Hong Kong following months of anti-government protests in 2019.

According to Al Jazeera, another point of contention has been the prosecution of Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon and British citizen, on national security charges. The UK had criticised the prosecution of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

According to Al Jazeera, Starmer told reporters in Beijing that he raised the issues of Lai and China’s human rights record during his meeting with Xi.

“We did have a respectful discussion about that, raised those issues as you would expect … It gives us great opportunities, but it also gives us the opportunity to have those discussions about areas where we disagree,” the Prime Minister told reporters, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI)