Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan to boost ties with Beijing faces new hurdles after a Chinese businessman’s close links to Prince Andrew spurred demands for tougher restrictions on China’s operatives in the U.K.
The latest pushback was triggered when it emerged in court documents last week that a 50-year-old man, who acted as a business adviser to the Duke of York, was banned from Britain on national security grounds in 2023. On Monday, he was named in the High Court as Yang Tengbo, a lobbyist who boasted of a web of political and business contacts in Britain.
The developments come at an awkward time for Starmer, who has tried to mend relations with Beijing — after years of strained ties under the Conservatives — as his new Labour government seeks sources of economic growth. The U.K. premier met China’s President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Brazil last month, the first meeting between the leaders of the two nations in almost seven years.
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