British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in China on January 28 for the first visit by a UK prime minister in eight years, accompanied by a delegation of almost 60 representatives from British businesses and cultural institutions.
During the visit, which runs until January 31, President Xi Jinping will meet Starmer, Premier Li Qiang will hold talks with him and top legislator Zhao Leji will also meet the prime minister. The two sides will exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of common interest.
The British prime minister’s visit comes only days after Xi Jinping's purge of senior military leaders in the country, according to foreign sources previously reported by IntelliNews.
Speaking to reporters on the flight to Beijing, Starmer said the presence of numerous chief executives on the flight demonstrated that economic opportunities exist between Britain and China.
"The evidence that there are opportunities is the fact that we've got so many CEOs with us on this flight, that we've got 60 coming out to explore those opportunities," he said, according to the UK's Press Association.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that maintaining communication and strengthening cooperation between China and Britain, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, serve the common interests of both peoples and contribute to global peace, stability and development.
China wishes to use this visit as an opportunity to enhance political mutual trust with Britain, deepen practical cooperation and jointly open a new chapter of healthy and stable development in bilateral relations, Xinhua reported on January 27.
The visit comes as the British prime minister faces domestic pressure to raise human rights issues with Chinese officials, including the imprisonment of British national and Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai and the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim Turkic minority in the country's far west, close to the borders of Central Asia.
However, the prime minister declined to specify which issues he would raise ahead of his meetings with the Chinese leadership.
"In the past, on all the trips I've done, I've always raised issues that need to be raised, but I don't want to get ahead of myself on the specifics until I've had the opportunity," Starmer said, PA Media reported.
The head of MI5, Ken McCallum, has warned that "Chinese state actors" present a national security threat to the UK "every day", with intelligence chiefs cautioning that Beijing seeks to carry out online espionage, interfere in UK public life and harass dissidents in the UK.
Starmer said he would "never compromise national security" whilst pursuing economic opportunities with China. The prime minister said he wanted "a comprehensive and consistent approach to China", rather than veering "from golden age to ice age", as under the previous Conservative government.
The visit also comes as the British government launches a new scheme to upskill its national workforce, according to a previous report by IntelliNews.
Every adult in the UK can now access free AI training courses through the government's AI Skills Hub, with participants receiving a virtual AI foundations badge upon completion. The courses, which take as little as 20 minutes, teach workers to use AI tools for tasks including drafting text, creating content and completing administrative work.
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