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Keir Starmer hails trade and investment deals as trip to China concludes

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Keir Starmer hails trade and investment deals as trip to China concludes



Sir Keir Starmer will wrap up his trip to China hailing billions of pounds in trade agreements and investment in the UK by companies including the makers of the viral hit Labubu dolls.

The Prime Minister leaves Shanghai on Saturday after a three-day visit during which he has repeatedly said that his decision to re-engage with China will deliver benefits for the British people.

Sir Keir said: “We are bringing stability, clarity and a long-term strategy to how we engage with China, so we can bring home the benefits for businesses and for working people.

“Engaging with China is how we secure growth for British businesses, support good jobs at home and protect our national security.”

The heavily trade-focused visit saw Sir Keir fly to China with more than 50 representatives of British businesses and cultural institutions.

Downing Street said the visit had secured £2.2 billion in export deals and market access worth another £2.3 billion over the next five years as well as hundreds of millions of pounds of investment by Chinese companies.

Among those companies was Pop Mart, makers of the hit toy Labubu, which has pledged to open seven stores in the UK including a flagship outlet on London’s Oxford Street.

Birmingham and Cardiff have also been earmarked for stores.

Asked whether he was familiar with the toy, Sir Keir told ITV News he had been given one on the trip, adding: “I don’t think it’ll last long with my children.”

Meanwhile, car manufacturer Chery also announced it would establish its European headquarters in Liverpool, already home to a Jaguar Land Rover plant.

And on the cultural side, the World Snooker Tour said it had secured a new event in two Chinese cities bringing in up to £15 million.

The deals follow the announcement on Thursday that Chinese tariffs on whiskey would be halved, a move expected to be worth £250 million to the UK over the next five years, and an agreement on visa-free travel to China for British nationals.

Sir Keir said the reduced tariffs would come into effect from Monday. Details of the visa scheme are yet to be confirmed, but Downing Street said it had “full confidence” it would be implemented.

Beyond trade and investment, the Prime Minister also scored a political victory when President Xi Jinping agreed to lift Chinese sanctions on six British parliamentarians.

Sir Keir told the BBC the agreement showed engaging with China allowed him to raise “difficult, sensitive issues which you can’t raise if you are not in the room”.

But he continues to face domestic pressure to challenge China further on human rights issues, including the detention of British national and Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai and the treatment of the Uighur minority.

In a statement, the previously sanctioned MPs and peers said they took “no comfort” in the decision to lift restrictions on them while these issues remained unresolved.

Closer ties with China could also cause problems for the UK with America, where President Donald Trump criticised Sir Keir’s visit, saying it was “dangerous” to do business with Beijing.

In interviews in Shanghai on Friday, Sir Keir brushed off the criticism, saying Mr Trump had been “talking more about Canada” than the UK, while Britain and America remained “very close allies”.

The Prime Minister will end his visit to China with meetings with senior local Chinese Communist Party officials in Shanghai on Saturday morning.

He will then return home via Japan, where he will meet the country’s new prime minister Sanae Takaichi for a working dinner.



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Asda boss rejects profiteering claims as petrol price tops 150p

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Asda boss rejects profiteering claims as petrol price tops 150p



Motorists are facing higher fuel prices ahead of Easter break due to the conflict in the Middle East, the RAC says.



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Hetero rolls out generic semaglutide exports to over 75 countries – The Times of India

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Hetero rolls out generic semaglutide exports to over 75 countries – The Times of India


Hyderabad: Pharma player Hetero on Friday said it has rolled out exports of its generic semaglutide injection portfolio as part of a multi-year plan to widen access to treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity in more than 75 countries.The Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company said initial rollouts are under way in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, with additional launches planned in other markets subject to regulatory approvals.The injectable therapies will be sold under the brand names Truglyx, Rolmodl and Moto G. Semaglutide belongs to the GLP-1 class of medicines, which are used in diabetes care and weight management.Hetero said the export launch is part of its broader strategy to improve access to advanced cardio-metabolic therapies, particularly in emerging markets.The company said the products will be offered in multi-dose disposable pen devices designed in line with innovator formats and will be available in several strengths, including 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 2 mg, 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg, allowing dosing flexibility for both diabetes and obesity treatment.Hetero said it is also awaiting approval from India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) after completing clinical trials in type 2 diabetes and obesity and plans an India launch after regulatory clearance.Hetero managing director Dr Vamsi Krishna Bandi said the company aims to provide high-quality, affordable generic semaglutide through a single global product platform backed by its manufacturing and development capabilities.He said Hetero would use its commercial networks across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to support supply and access. The Hyderabad-headquartered Hetero operates in more than 145 countries and employs over 30,000 people.



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India-US trade deal update: Piyush Goyal meets USTR Jamieson Greer, discusses next steps in BTA talks – The Times of India

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India-US trade deal update: Piyush Goyal meets USTR Jamieson Greer, discusses next steps in BTA talks – The Times of India


Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and reviewed the next steps in negotiations for the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA).The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 14th ministerial conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organisation in Yaounde, Cameroon, where both sides also exchanged views on issues related to the WTO agenda.“Had a very productive discussion with @USTradeRep Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the WTO Ministerial Conference. Exchanged views on the #WTOMC14 agenda, next steps in the India-US BTA negotiations and explored ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral trade ties,” Goyal said in a social media post.The development comes amid ongoing efforts by both countries to finalise an interim trade pact. Last month, India and the US announced that they had finalised a framework for the first phase of the agreement, though it is yet to be signed.The two sides had earlier announced a trade deal on February 2, followed by a joint statement on February 7 outlining the contours of the agreement.As part of the framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18%. However, the tariff structure has since undergone changes after the US Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs imposed under earlier measures.Following the ruling, US President Donald Trump introduced a 10% tariff on all countries for a period of 150 days starting February 24.In view of these developments, a planned meeting between chief negotiators of India and the US — aimed at finalising the legal text of the agreement — has been postponed. The pact was earlier expected to be signed this month.An official had earlier said that the interim trade agreement would be signed once the new global tariff framework of the US is fully in place.



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