Keir Starmer’s row with Donald Trump over China journey is getting worse | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Keir Starmer’s journey to China has created an enormous rift between the Labour authorities and Donald Trump, as a Government minister lashed out on the US President. Mr Trump final evening condemned the go to, and commerce offers that would outcome, as “dangerous”. But UK commerce minister Chris Bryant hit again, saying Mr Trump was “wrong”.

Asked by BBC Breakfast if the US president was mistaken in his remarks, commerce minister Sir Chris Bryant stated: “Yes, he is wrong, and I say this precisely because, apart from anything else, he himself said in his own statement that he is a friend with President Xi, and as I understand it, President Trump is going to China himself in April.”

And Sir Chris instructed Sky News it could be “absolutely bonkers” for the UK to not have interaction with China. Asked in regards to the US president’s suggestion in a single day it could be “dangerous” for the UK to do enterprise with China, the Labour Minister stated: “Well, he also said that President Xi (Jinping) is a friend of his and that he’s going to visit him in April.”

Sir Chris added: “I agree that you of course you have to go into your relationship with China with your eyes wide open.

“You have to challenge China on the issues where we disagree with them and but you have to face the fact that China is a major power in the world.

“It’s the second largest economy in the world, and it’s our fourth largest export market.

“So it would be absolutely bonkers to the UK not to engage with China.”

Mr Trump warned it could be “dangerous” for the UK to do enterprise with China, as Sir Keir Starmer touched down in Shanghai for the following leg of his journey to the nation.

The Prime Minister met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday as he made the case for a “more sophisticated” relationship between the 2 international locations.

Asked by reporters early on Friday in regards to the UK’s efforts to strengthen financial ties with China, Mr Trump expressed disapproval.

“Well, it’s very dangerous for them to do that, and it’s even more dangerous, I think, for Canada to get into business with China,” he stated.

He added that Canada was doing “poorly” and stated “you can’t look at China as the answer”.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited China earlier in January as the 2 international locations sought nearer financial ties, reaching a preliminary settlement to chop tariffs on chosen items.

Mr Trump later threatened Canada with a 100% tariff on exports if Ottawa entered right into a free commerce settlement with China, however Mr Carney denied any such plans.

UK officers insisted the US was conscious of Sir Keir’s journey and his goals prematurely, and pointed to Mr Trump’s personal go to to China anticipated to happen in April.

The US President’s feedback got here forward of Sir Keir’s arrival in Shanghai, an enormous monetary hub, for the following leg of his journey.

He had earlier met enterprise leaders and Chinese ministers in Beijing as he continues his push to bolster financial ties with China on the ultimate day of his go to to the nation.

This included Chinese Health Minister Ma Xiaowei and the Bank of China chairman Ge Haijiao.

The PM’s go to to Shanghai, China’s greatest metropolis, will cap a visit throughout which the Prime Minister’s political opponents accused him of “kowtowing” to Mr Xi.

But Sir Keir has careworn the monetary advantages of an improved relationship with China,

Under offers agreed on the go to, tariffs on Scotch whisky are set to be halved to five% and UK residents visiting China for fewer than 30 days will now not want a visa.

Elsewhere, Octopus Energy Group, the UK’s largest vitality provider, has introduced it’ll begin a brand new three way partnership with China’s PCG Power, geared toward buying and selling renewable vitality in China.

No 10 has left the door open to a future go to to the UK by Mr Xi, whose final state go to to Britain was in October 2015.

The Prime Minister’s journey to China is the primary by a UK premier since 2018.

Sir Keir has confronted calls to boost the jailing of Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai and the remedy of the Uighur minority with the Chinese management.

He stated that they had a “respectful discussion” on these points, however each he and Downing Street refused to be drawn on particulars of discussions on contentious points.

According to his son, 78-year-old British nationwide Mr Lai has spent 5 years in solitary confinement in remedy which quantities to “torture” beneath Hong Kong’s new nationwide safety legislation.