U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pursuit of closer ties with China has raised private questions from Donald Trump’s incoming administration, European diplomats and even some senior British officials.
It’s a courtship that risks leaving Starmer isolated among his allies. Last month, he became the first British leader to meet with President Xi Jinping in seven years and next month Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is due to meet top officials in Beijing with priorities that include deepening financial ties between Shanghai and the City of London.
The new Labour government is trying to fix a relationship that has gone from a "golden age” in 2015 under the then-Conservative prime minister, David Cameron, to outright gloom. Ties all-but froze following Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, its stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a wave of alleged cyberattacks and spying operations in Britain.
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