Keir Starmer will be pleased that he has secured several agreements to mark his visit to Beijing and by the warm tone of President Xi Jinping’s remarks about his government. However, No 10’s announcements do not put a figure on the value of the deals, and there does not appear to be a big bundle of investments worth billions by Chinese or British firms, which prime ministers have usually tended to hold up as a sign of success. These are the agreements secured by the UK so far.
Visa-free travel to China
This is probably the biggest coup from the trip. Visa-free travel for Britons to visit China for under 30 days will allow holidays and business trips to take place without the usual bureaucracy. The agreement brings the UK into line with 50 other countries allowed visa-free travel for 30 days, including France, Germany, Italy, Australia and Japan.
Partnership on services sector and hint of a future trade deal
The UK is a major exporter of services, providing £13bn worth to China every year. There is no free trade agreement currently on services, but the two countries agreed to a “feasibility study” about the possibility of a deal. If established, this could mean clear and legally binding rules for UK services firms doing business in China.
Business leaders on the trip were pleased with the progress. Melissa Geiger, the chair of the consultancy firm KPMG UK, said: “The further opening up of this major new market will unlock significant bilateral trade and investment opportunities and create jobs across the UK.”
Intelligence sharing on organised crime and illegal immigration
This deal may be the one that proves the most useful to the government as it seeks to clamp down on Channel crossings by small boats. Starmer and Xi signed an agreement to pool more information to disrupt gangs’ operations. Estimates suggest more than half of all small boat engines last year were manufactured in China, with other parts sourced there, too. The cooperation will also be aimed at thwarting opioid drug-smuggling gangs coming out of China. Starmer said the deal would “help us cut off the supply of boats at source – stopping crossings before lives are put at risk and restoring control to our borders”.
Agreements to cooperate on standards
A string of the memorandums of understanding were aimed at improving collaboration in specific business sectors. These included promises to cooperate more on product standards, health, sports industries, technical education and training, food safety, and animal and plant quarantine.
Strengthening the UK-China joint economic and trade commission
Last year, the UK and China held their first economic summit and trade talks since 2018, signalling a thawing in economic relations. It was attended by Peter Kyle, the business secretary, in one of his first engagements in the job, and Wang Wentao, China’s commerce minister. That ended with agreements to increase trade in services. The signal from China now appears to be that it is keen to continue this engagement.
Making exports from the UK to China easier
Starmer said British businesses had been calling for more ways to grow their footprints in China, asking for clearer rules, better market access, and practical support to allow them to meet consumer demand in the country. The UK said its agreement with China would make it easier for British businesses to find partners there, and create channels to help open up markets – for example by fostering recognition of UK professionals’ qualifications.
One of those on the trip, Jerome Frost, the chief executive of the UK engineering company Arup, said: “We welcome the great work done by both governments on this agreement as an opportunity to deepen the work we’ve been doing in China for decades. China is home to some of our most technically demanding and innovative projects – from urban regeneration in Beijing and Shanghai to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the world’s longest sea crossing.”
