By Bo Erickson and Andrew MacAskill
WASHINGTON/BEIJING, Jan 30 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has warned the United Kingdom against getting into business with China after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed a reset in relations.
With Western leaders reeling from the unpredictability of Trump, Starmer became the latest to head to China, where he called for a “more sophisticated relationship” with improved market access, lower tariffs and investment deals in three-hours of talks with Xi on Thursday.
During the premiere of the “Melania” film at the Kennedy Center, Trump was asked about the UK pledging greater business cooperation with China, and he told reporters: “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.”
Starmer, whose centre-left Labour government has struggled to deliver the economic growth it promised, has made improving relations with the world’s second-largest economy a priority.
His visit comes amid Trump’s on-off threats of trade tariffs and pledges to grab control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, which have rattled long-standing U.S. allies, such as Britain.
Starmer told reporters on the plane on the way to China that Britain could continue to strengthen economic ties with China – without angering Trump – because of his country’s long history of working closely with the United States.
“The relationship we have with the U.S. is one of the closest relationships we hold, on defence, security, intelligence and also on trade and lots of areas,” he said.
Starmer said Britain would not have to choose between closer ties with the United States or China, highlighting Trump’s visit to Britain in September where they announced 150 billion pound of U.S investment into Britain.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Canada if it goes through with economic deals struck with China on a recent visit by its leader Mark Carney.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to travel to China soon and Trump himself has said he will visit in April.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson in Washington and Andrew MacAskill in Beijing; Writing by Jasper Ward and John Geddie; Editing by Neil Fullick)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.