Politics
Britain’s Starmer seeks fresh start with China, economic wins
- Starmer meets China’s Xi, calls for reset in relations.
- Visit comes amid flurry of diplomacy with Beijing, Trump tensions.
- Leaders to announce deal to stop migrant‑smuggling networks.
BEIJING: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that he wanted to build a “sophisticated relationship” aiming to boost growth and security, signalling a breakthrough in ties after years of acrimony.
On the most important day of his four-day visit to China, the first by a British prime minister in eight years, Starmer held talks with Xi at the Great Hall of the People before they lunched together.
Starmer, whose centre-left Labour Party government has struggled to deliver the growth it promised, has made improving relations with the world’s second largest economy a priority, despite lingering misgivings.
“China is a vital player on the global stage, and it’s vital that we build a more sophisticated relationship where we can identify opportunities to collaborate, but of course, also allow a meaningful dialogue on areas where we disagree,” Starmer told Xi at the start of their meeting.
Xi said ties with Britain had gone through “twists and turns” that did not serve the interests of either country and that China stood ready to develop a long-term strategic partnership.
Starmer is the latest Western leader to engage in a flurry of diplomacy with China, as nations hedge against unpredictability from the United States under President Donald Trump.
Trump’s on-off threats of trade tariffs and pledges to grab control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, have rankled longstanding allies like Britain.
Starmer’s visit immediately follows that of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who signed an economic deal with Beijing to tear down trade barriers, drawing Trump’s ire.
Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese studies at King’s College London, said he expected that a number of deals between Britain and China would be announced to show how their relationship has improved.
“This must look like it’s been a success,” he said. “For both sides, they don’t want a meeting which is going to be arguing about things they disagree on.”
Big business delegation in tow
Starmer has adopted a new policy of engagement with China after ties deteriorated for years under previous Conservative governments, when London curbed some Chinese investment.
“I made the promise 18 months ago, when we were elected into government, that I would make Britain face outwards again,” Starmer told Xi.
“Because, as we all know, events abroad affect everything that happens back in our home countries, to prices on the supermarket shelves to how secure we feel.”
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party, said on Wednesday she would not have gone to China.
In a sign of how the countries can work together, Downing Street said Starmer and Xi would announce that Britain and China would jointly tackle gangs involved in trafficking illegal migrants.
The deal will focus on reducing use of Chinese-made engines for small boats that transport people across Europe to claim asylum.
British and Chinese officials will share intelligence to identify smugglers’ supply routes and work with Chinese manufacturers to prevent legitimate businesses from being exploited by organised crime, Downing Street.
Starmer told reporters on the airplane to China that he would “raise the issues that need to be raised” on human rights with Xi, when asked if he will bring up the case of Jimmy Lai, the former Hong Kong media tycoon and British citizen who was convicted in December of national security crimes.
But the presence of more than 50 business leaders accompanying Starmer and his itinerary shows the priority for this trip is economic ties.
It was time for a “mature” relationship with China, Starmer told a business delegation hours after arriving on Wednesday.
He then dined at a Chinese restaurant known for its mushroom-laden dishes that also hosted former US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during her 2023 visit.
He discussed how to pronounce the Chinese word for thank you – ‘xie xie’ – as he posed for photographs with restaurant staff, a video posted on Weibo showed.
- Congress leadership condemns Modi for ties, demands answers.
- Cites Modi’s meetings with Trump, Israel trip to allege connection.
- Govt denies any advisory role or meaningful contact with Epstein.
Freshly released files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have sparked attention after an email mentioning Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi surfaced in the latest batch published by the US Department of Justice, drawing a sharp response from New Delhi.
The Jerusalem Post reported on Saturday that one of the emails, attributed to Epstein, refers to Modi’s 2017 state visit to Israel — the first ever by an Indian prime minister.
The message claims Modi acted on Epstein’s advice during the trip, a suggestion Indian authorities have firmly rejected.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the only verifiable fact in the email is Modi’s official visit to Israel, calling the rest of the claims unfounded and misleading.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the remarks as the musings of a convicted criminal, saying there was no evidence of any meaningful contact or advisory role involving Modi and Epstein.
Despite the denial, opposition parties have cited the reference to press the government for an explanation.
Meanwhile, local media reported that the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, strongly criticised Prime Minister Modi, calling any alleged link with Epstein a matter of deep national shame.
Congress, in a recent statement, said Epstein wrote in an email that Modi took his advice before visiting Israel, claiming Modi “danced and sang” there for the benefit of the US president.
The party said Modi visited Israel from July 4 to 6, 2017, and that Epstein’s email was written three days after the trip.
It added that Modi had met then US President Donald Trump in June 2017, before the Israel visit, claiming this showed a long-standing and deep connection between Modi and Epstein.
The opposition party said the issue concerns national dignity and international credibility and that Modi must answer questions about what advice he took from Epstein and the meaning of the claims made in the email.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He was jailed in 2008 for soliciting paid sex from a minor.
A fresh cache of files released on Friday related to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contains documents that refer to numerous high-profile figures.
President Donald Trump, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and British billionaire Richard Branson are among some of the people named in the documents.
- Congress leadership condemns Modi for ties, demands answers.
- Cites Modi’s meetings with Trump, Israel trip to allege connection.
- Govt denies any advisory role or meaningful contact with Epstein.
Freshly released files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have sparked attention after an email mentioning Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi surfaced in the latest batch published by the US Department of Justice, drawing a sharp response from New Delhi.
The Jerusalem Post reported on Saturday that one of the emails, attributed to Epstein, refers to Modi’s 2017 state visit to Israel — the first ever by an Indian prime minister.
The message claims Modi acted on Epstein’s advice during the trip, a suggestion Indian authorities have firmly rejected.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the only verifiable fact in the email is Modi’s official visit to Israel, calling the rest of the claims unfounded and misleading.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the remarks as the musings of a convicted criminal, saying there was no evidence of any meaningful contact or advisory role involving Modi and Epstein.
Despite the denial, opposition parties have cited the reference to press the government for an explanation.
Meanwhile, local media reported that the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, strongly criticised Prime Minister Modi, calling any alleged link with Epstein a matter of deep national shame.
Congress, in a recent statement, said Epstein wrote in an email that Modi took his advice before visiting Israel, claiming Modi “danced and sang” there for the benefit of the US president.
The party said Modi visited Israel from July 4 to 6, 2017, and that Epstein’s email was written three days after the trip.
It added that Modi had met then US President Donald Trump in June 2017, before the Israel visit, claiming this showed a long-standing and deep connection between Modi and Epstein.
The opposition party said the issue concerns national dignity and international credibility and that Modi must answer questions about what advice he took from Epstein and the meaning of the claims made in the email.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He was jailed in 2008 for soliciting paid sex from a minor.
A fresh cache of files released on Friday related to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contains documents that refer to numerous high-profile figures.
President Donald Trump, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and British billionaire Richard Branson are among some of the people named in the documents.
- Tasnim news agency rejects reports of IRCG official targeting.
- Iranian media says govt investigation cause of explosion.
- Blast comes amid heightened tensions Tehran and Washington.
An explosion occurred at Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, Iranian media reported, without giving a cause for the blast.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency said that social media reports alleging that a Revolutionary Guard navy commander was targeted in the explosion were “completely false”.
Iranian media said the blast was being investigated but gave no further information. Iranian authorities could not immediately be contacted for comment.
The port of Bandar Abbas lies on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway between Iran and Oman which handles about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil.
The reported explosion comes amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington after Iranian the biggest protests to convulse the country in three years, and also amid ongoing Western concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The nationwide protests erupted in December over economic hardship and posed one of the toughest challenges to the government.
At least 5,000 people were killed in the protests, including 500 members of the security forces, an Iranian official told Reuters.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said an “armada” was heading toward Iran. Multiple sources said on Friday that Trump was weighing options against Iran that include targeted strikes on security forces.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused US, Israeli and European leaders of exploiting Iran’s economic problems, inciting unrest and providing people with the means to “tear the nation apart”.
Despite repeated threats of military action against Iran, Trump predicted that Tehran would seek to negotiate a deal rather than face American military action.
“I can say this, they do want to make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.
Asked if he had given Iran a deadline to enter talks on its nuclear and missile programmes, Trump said “yeah, I have,” but refused to say what it was.
“We have a large armada, flotilla, call it whatever you want, heading towards Iran right now,” Trump said, referring to a US naval carrier group in waters off Iran.
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