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gentlemen Keir Starmer has ended his trip China Billions of pounds of trade deals and investment in the UK from companies including the maker of popular Ragdolls have been welcomed.
this Prime Minister He left Shanghai on Saturday after concluding a three-day visit. During his visit, he repeatedly said that his decision to re-engage with China would bring benefits to the world. British people.
Sir Keir said: “We are developing a stable, clear and long-term strategy for dealing with China that delivers benefits for businesses and working people.
“Engagement with China is how we ensure British businesses grow, support good jobs at home and protect our national security.”
Sir Keir flew to China along with more than 50 representatives of British businesses and cultural institutions during the trade-focused visit.
downing street It said the visit had secured £2.2 billion in export deals and market access worth £2.3 billion over the next five years, as well as hundreds of millions of pounds of investment from Chinese companies.
The companies include Pop Mart, the maker of popular toy Labubu, which has committed to opening seven stores in the UK, including a flagship store on London’s Oxford Street.
Stores have also been earmarked for opening in Birmingham and Cardiff.
Asked if he was familiar with the toy, Sir Keir told ITV News he had been given one during the trip, adding: “I don’t think it would be something my kids would play with for long.”
Meanwhile, carmaker Chery also announced it will set up its European headquarters in Liverpool, which is already home to a Jaguar Land Rover factory.
On the cultural front, the World Snooker Tour said it had launched a new event in two Chinese cities, generating revenue of up to £15m.
It was announced on Thursday that Chinese tariffs on whiskey would be halved in a move expected to be worth £250m to the UK over the next five years, with a deal agreed for visa-free travel to China for British nationals.
Sir Keir said the reduced tariffs would come into effect on Monday. Details of the visa scheme have yet to be confirmed, but Downing Street said it had “full confidence” it would be implemented.
As well as trade and investment, the prime minister also scored a political victory when President Xi Jinping agreed to lift Chinese sanctions on six British MPs.
Sir Keir told the BBC the deal showed engagement with China allowed him to raise “difficult, sensitive issues that you wouldn’t be able to ask if you weren’t in the room”.
But he continues to face domestic pressure to further challenge China on human rights issues, including the detention of British national and Hong Kong democracy activist Jimmy Lai, and the treatment of the Uyghur minority.
MPs and peers previously sanctioned said in a statement they were “uncomfortable” with the decision to lift restrictions on them while the issues remain unresolved.
Closer ties with China could also cause problems for the UK and the US, with US President Donald Trump criticizing Sir Keir’s visit, saying doing business with Beijing was “dangerous”.
In an interview in Shanghai on Friday, Sir Keir dismissed the criticism, saying Trump was “talking more about Canada” than Britain, while Britain and the United States remained “very close allies”.
The Prime Minister concluded his visit to China on Saturday morning by meeting with senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party in Shanghai.
He will then return to Japan via Japan and meet with Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for a working dinner.