Trump warns UK against China ties as Starmer seeks trade deals

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Britain against strengthening economic ties with China, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised the benefits of resetting relations during a visit to Beijing.

Speaking to reporters in Washington ahead of the premiere of the Melania film at the Kennedy Centre, Trump said of closer UK-China relations: "Well, it's very dangerous for them to do that." He did not elaborate, Caliber.Az reports, citing British media.

Starmer, meanwhile, met Chinese President Xi Jinping on January 29 for three hours of talks, calling for a "more sophisticated relationship" that could include improved market access, lower tariffs, and investment deals. He also discussed soccer and Shakespeare with Xi.

Speaking at the UK-China Business Forum in Beijing, Starmer said his meetings had provided "just the level of engagement that we hoped for" and added: "We warmly engaged and made some real progress, actually, because the UK has got a huge amount to offer."

Starmer hailed agreements on visa-free travel and lower whisky tariffs as "really important access, symbolic of what we're doing with the relationship", and said: "That is the way that we build the mutual trust and respect that is so important."

The British leader emphasised that improving ties with China would not compromise relations with the United States.

"The relationship we have with the United States is one of the closest ... we hold," he said, citing areas such as defence, security, intelligence, and trade. Starmer insisted Britain would not have to choose between the two powers.

Trump, who plans to visit China in April, recently threatened tariffs on Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney struck economic deals with Beijing. Starmer has also urged Trump to apologise for his "frankly appalling" remarks on NATO troops and refused to yield to his demands over Greenland.

The U.S. Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, cast doubt on Starmer’s efforts, telling reporters: "The Chinese are the greatest exporters and they are very, very difficult when you're trying to export to them. So good luck if the British are trying to export to China...it's just unlikely."

He added that the likelihood of Trump imposing tariffs on Britain was low.

By Aghakazim Guliyev