British leader meets Xi: New chapter in UK-China relations ahead?
British Prime Minister makes first contact with Chinese leadership in six years at G20 summit. Both countries look to re-start economic talks and boost trade partnerships in coming months
At todays G20 summit in Brazil Keir Starmer and Xi Jinping had their first face-to-face talk - a meeting that hasnt happened since way back in 2018. The get-together showed a big change in UK-China relations
The chat between leaders was quite open: they discussed trade science education and climate stuff. Starmer wants to set-up more meetings (maybe in London or Beijing) and get the money-people talking again; its been five years since UK-China economic talks stopped
The UKʼs approach to China is different now than it was before. Previous government was super-careful about:
- Chinese money in UK business
- Hong Kong situation
- Security worries
- Human rights issues
Trade numbers show why this matters - China is UKʼs number-six trading buddy with £86.5 billion worth of deals going on. Starmer thinks working with China could help fix UKʼs money problems before next summers election
The British leader wants predictable ties; he told Xi about following rules and being clear about stuff. Chinese media says Xi thinks both countries can work together well. After David Lammyʼs China visit last month this new meeting shows UKʼs trying to fix things - even though some politicians dont like it
