BEIJING: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer begins a three-day visit to China on Wednesday, where he will defend London&#39;s &quot;pragmatic&quot; partnership with the Asian giant after years of fraught relations. It is the first visit to Beijing by a UK prime minister since 2018 and follows a string of Western leaders courting Beijing in recent weeks, pivoting from a mercurial United States. Starmer will also make a brief stop in Japan to meet with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. For Chinese President Xi Jinping, the trip is an opportunity to show Beijing can be a reliable partner at a time when President Donald Trump&#39;s policies have rattled historic ties between Washington and its Western allies. Starmer, who is battling record-low popularity polls and hopes the visit can boost Britain&#39;s beleaguered economy, is to arrive in Beijing around 09:30 GMT on Wednesday. He will meet with Xi for lunch on Thursday, followed by a meeting with Premier Li Qiang. The talks will touch upon &quot;trade, investment and national security,&quot; Downing Street said in a statement, with Starmer promising &quot;stability and clarity in the government&#39;s approach&quot;. Starmer said on Wednesday this visit to China was &quot;going to be a really important trip for us&quot;, vowing to make &quot;some real progress&quot;. There are &quot;opportunities&quot; to deepen bilateral relations, Starmer told reporters traveling with him on the plane to China. &quot;It doesn&#39;t make sense to stick our head in the ground and bury in the sand when it comes to China; it&#39;s in our interests to engage and not compromise on national security,&quot; he added. China, for its part, &quot;is willing to take this visit as an opportunity to enhance political mutual trust&quot;, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said ahead of the trip. Faced with Trump&#39;s threats to impose tariffs on Canada for signing a trade agreement with China, and the US president&#39;s attempts to create a new international institution with his &quot;Board of Peace&quot;, Beijing has been affirming its support for the United Nations to visiting leaders. Reset tiesUK-China relations plummeted in 2020 after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong, which severely curtailed freedoms in the former British colony. They soured further, with both powers exchanging accusations of spying. Starmer, however, was quick to deny fresh claims of Chinese spying after the Telegraph newspaper reported Monday that China had hacked the mobile phones of senior officials in Downing Street for several years. &quot;There&#39;s no evidence of that. We&#39;ve got robust schemes, security measures in place as you&#39;d expect,&quot; he told reporters on Wednesday. Since taking the helm in 2024, Starmer has been at pains to reset ties with the world&#39;s second-largest economy and Britain&#39;s third-biggest trade partner. In China, he will be accompanied by around 60 business leaders from the finance, pharmaceutical, automobile, and other sectors, and cultural representatives as he tries to balance attracting vital investment and appearing firm on national security concerns. The Labour leader also spoke to Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November 2024. Jimmy Lai&nbsp;The prime minister is also expected to raise the case of Hong Kong media mogul and democracy supporter Jimmy Lai, 78, a British national facing years in prison after being found guilty of collusion charges in December. When asked by reporters about his plans to discuss Lai&#39;s case, Starmer avoided specifics, but said engaging with Beijing was to ensure that &quot;issues where we disagree can be discussed&quot;. Reporters Without Borders urged Starmer in a letter to secure Lai&#39;s release during his visit. The British government has also faced fierce domestic opposition after it approved this month contentious plans for a new Chinese mega-embassy in London, which critics say could be used to spy on and harass dissidents.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Keir Starmer delivering his first address as prime minister of the United Kingdom, 10 Downing Street, London, July 5, 2024. (FILE/Encyclopedia Britannica)

China

United Kingdom

In an effort to boost trade and reset strained ties, Britain’s prime minister travels to Beijing for talks with Chinese leaders, seeking investment and diplomatic engagement while balancing shifting global alliances.

Starmer lands in China to defend 'pragmatic' partnership

LONDON: The British Ministry of Defence said it cooperated with France on Saturday night to strike an underground facility in Syria that had likely been used by the Islamic State group to store weapons. &quot;Royal Air Force aircraft have completed successful strikes against Daesh in a joint operation with France,&quot; the ministry said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS. &quot;This facility had been occupied by Daesh, most likely to store weapons and explosives. The area around the facility is devoid of any civilian habitation,&quot; the statement added. The ministry said there was no indication the bombing north of the ancient site of Palmyra had posed any risk to civilians. IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 but still maintains a presence, particularly in the country&#39;s vast desert. Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins, was once controlled by militants. Last month, Washington said a lone IS gunman in Palmyra attacked American personnel, killing two US soldiers and a US civilian. US forces said they struck dozens of IS targets in Syria in retaliation.

Europe

The British Ministry of Defence said it cooperated with France on Saturday night to strike an underground facility in Syria that had likely been used by the Islamic State group to store weapons.

UK says conducted joint strike with France on IS site near Palmyra

LONDON: The UK government on Wednesday said it was focused on resuming talks promptly after the United States suspended implementation of a tech cooperation deal with Britain. The deal was signed during US President Donald Trump&#39;s pomp-filled state visit to the UK in September. But on Tuesday Michael Kratsios, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said on X that the UK must make &quot;substantial progress&quot; on trade talks for the deal to resume. The US and UK have been trying to implement the &quot;Economic Prosperity Deal,&quot; agreed in May and one of the first international agreements signed after Trump threatened the world with punishing tariffs on goods entering the United States. The US-UK Technology Prosperity Deal agreed in September 2025 was a non-binding agreement to sit alongside the broader Economic Prosperity Deal. It was designed to align the two countries on tech innovation while spurring mostly private-sector investment. Following the White House announcement, a UK government spokesperson said: &quot;We look forward to resuming work on this partnership as quickly as possible... and working together to help shape the emerging technologies of the future.&quot; Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle held trade talks with US counterparts in Washington DC last week to progress the Economic Prosperity Deal, the spokesperson said. &quot;They celebrated the success of the recent pharma deal and both sides agreed to continue further negotiations next year.&quot; According to the Financial Times, US officials have become increasingly frustrated with Britain&#39;s lack of willingness to address non-tariff barriers, including rules and regulations governing food and industrial goods.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and US President Donald Trump (L) show off their signed technology prosperity deal at a Business event at Chequers, in Aylesbury, central England, on September 18, 2025 (AFP/File)

Americas

UK seeks to revive tech cooperation after the United States suspended a non-binding deal, tying its return to trade progress, as talks continue amid US frustration over UK non-tariff barriers.

UK seeks to revive tech cooperation after the United States suspended a non-binding deal, tying its return to trade progress, as talks continue amid US frustration over UK non-tariff barriers.


UK looks to restart cooperation after US suspends tech deal

Reuters

PARIS/UNITED NATIONS: France and Britain, in coordination with the United States, are working to finalise a UN Security Council resolution in the coming days that would lay the foundation for a future international force in Gaza, France said on Thursday. With a shaky US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holding, planning has begun for an international force to stabilize security in the Palestinian enclave, two senior US advisers said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in Paris, French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said such a force needed a UN mandate to provide a strong foundation in international law and ease the process of getting potential contributions from countries. &quot;France is working closely with its partners on the establishment of such an international mission, which must be formalised through the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution,&quot; he said. &quot;Discussions, notably with the Americans and British, are ongoing to propose this resolution in the coming days.&quot; US President Donald Trump&#39;s administration is speaking with many countries interested in contributing to the force, a White House official said on Thursday. &quot;We are also in conversations about a potential UN Security Council resolution to support this effort,&quot; the White House official said. STABILISATION FORCE &#39;WILL TAKE SOME TIME&#39;, SAYS BRITAIN Paris hosted talks with other European and Arab powers on October 10 to flesh out ideas for Gaza&#39;s post-war transition, including how an international force could take shape. Diplomats said the stabilisation force would not be a formal United Nations peacekeeping force paid for by the world body. Instead, a Security Council resolution could mirror action taken by the 15-member body to back the deployment of an international force to combat armed gangs in Haiti. That resolution spells out and authorizes the mission and states contributing to the force to &quot;take all necessary measures&quot; &ndash; code for the use of force &ndash; to carry out the mandate. &quot;The stabilisation force will take some time,&quot; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament on Tuesday. &quot;The terms of reference are still being drawn up. There is a United Nations Security Council resolution on the establishment of the force, or I hope there will be, but the wider terms of reference are not yet agreed.&quot; INDONESIA PREVIOUSLY OFFERED 20,000 TROOPS Among the countries the US is speaking to about contributing to the force are Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, and Azerbaijan, the advisers said on condition of anonymity. There are also currently up to two dozen US troops in the region to help set up the operation, serving in a &quot;coordination, oversight&quot; role, they said. Italy has publicly said it was willing to take part. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto told the United Nations General Assembly on September 23 that if there was a UN resolution, Indonesia was prepared to deploy 20,000 or more troops in Gaza to help secure peace. The 193-member UN General Assembly last month overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration that aimed to advance a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, which supports the deployment of a temporary international stabilization mission mandated by the UN Security Council.

 Palestinians walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, October 16, 2025.

Middle East

France and Britain, in coordination with the United States, are working to finalise a UN Security Council resolution in the coming days that would lay the foundation for a future international force in Gaza, France said on Thursday.

France and Britain refine plans at UN for Gaza force resolution

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LONDON: British citizens and permanent residents will have to produce a mandatory digital identification card in order to get work, the government announced Friday, reviving an idea that has long been controversial in the&nbsp;UK. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The government says the plan will help reduce unauthorized immigration by making it harder for people to work in the underground economy. It says it will also make it simpler for people to access health care, welfare, child care and other public services. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure,&rdquo; Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. &ldquo;And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly &mdash; rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.&rdquo; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Britain has not had compulsory identity cards for ordinary citizens since shortly after World War II, and the idea has long been contentious, with civil rights campaigners arguing it infringes personal liberty and puts people&rsquo;s information at risk. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Former Prime Minister Tony Blair tried to introduce biometric ID cards two decades ago as a way of fighting terrorism and fraud, but the plan was abandoned after strong opposition from the public and Parliament. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;There&rsquo;s always been this feeling that Britain is not a so-called &lsquo;Papers, please&rsquo; society, in contrast to continental Europe and other countries where ID cards are very common,&rdquo; said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;It has to be said, however, that given one is forced in some ways to prove one&rsquo;s ID in myriad circumstances, both in contact with the government and in contact with the private sector in all sorts of ways, that actually a digital ID card would be quite useful.&rdquo; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starmer&rsquo;s government said people would not have to carry their ID or be asked to produce it, but it will be mandatory to get a job. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The government said the digital ID will work for people who don&rsquo;t have a smartphone, and it will hold a public consultation to work out the details. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like previous Conservative governments, Starmer&rsquo;s Labour Party administration is struggling to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in flimsy, inflatable boats operated by people smugglers. Some 37,000 people crossed the English Channel on small boats last year, and more than 30,000 so far this year. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starmer has vowed to cut that number by tackling the criminal people smuggling gangs that organize the journeys, and by reducing the &ldquo;pull factors&rdquo; that draw migrants to the UK &mdash; including a perception that it is easy to find under-the-table work.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he hosts representatives of the Civil Nuclear industry at a reception at Lancaster House in London, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025

Gadgets

British citizens and permanent residents will have to produce a mandatory digital identification card in order to get work, the government announced Friday, reviving an idea that has long been controversial in the UK

Articles tagged with "Britain"

Starmer lands in China to defend 'pragmatic' partnership

UK says conducted joint strike with France on IS site near Palmyra

UK looks to restart cooperation after US suspends tech deal

France and Britain refine plans at UN for Gaza force resolution

UK to introduce mandatory digital ID for workers