‘No comment’: City firms on Starmer China trip keep schtum January 29, 2026 When Sir Keir Starmer boarded a British Airways flight to Beijing earlier this week, he brought with him a coterie of leaders from British industry to help fly the flag. More than 50 delegates were invited on the PM’s trip, many from top City institutions such as law firm Clifford Chance and accounting giant PwC. [...]
Starmer: Businesses ‘cry out’ for more trade with China January 29, 2026 Keir Starmer has said businesses are “crying out for ways” to export to Chinese markets as he struck a new deal for British travellers. After meeting President Xi Jinping in China, Starmer defended his government’s ambitions to boost relations with the world’s second largest economy despite questions over security threats posed by state-backed spies and [...]
As Starmer heads to China, Brits rush to buy Chinese EVs January 29, 2026 A couple of years ago, I was invited to the launch of a new Chinese EV brand called Omoda. Myself and a handful of journalists showed up to an inauspicious press event in the basement of a Covent Garden hotel. In the room was parked (I’m still not sure how they got it down there) [...]
Lib Dems: Starmer has gone ‘cap in hand’ to China despite spy threats January 28, 2026 Keir Starmer has been accused of going “cap in hand” to China, piling further criticism on the government’s trade ambitions with a country that has backed hacking operations against the UK. Liberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper demanded deputy prime minister David Lammy, who stood in for Starmer at PMQs, to name a “single consequence” [...]
Three things business needs from a UK China strategy January 28, 2026 The UK must replace its current reactive approach to China with a clear, predictable, and durable strategic framework to provide businesses with the stability needed to manage risk, diversify supply chains, and leverage opportunities in advanced services, says David Bharier Today the Prime Minister is in China for the first UK prime ministerial visit since [...]
Starmer warned on ‘severe’ risk of trading with China January 28, 2026 Keir Starmer has been warned about the “severe” risk of trading with China as he said building economic relations with the world’s second largest economy would drive growth. The Prime Minister landed in Beijing on Wednesday for meetings with Chinese officials including President Xi Jinping in the coming days. He has been joined by City [...]
Starmer is wrong to say he doesn’t have to choose between the US and China January 28, 2026 Is Keir Starmer a geopolitical genius? As he jets off to China for the first visit by a UK Prime Minister since 2018, we must at least consider the possibility that he is. Ahead of his departure Starmer said “I’m often invited to simply choose between countries [but] I don’t do that.” The countries in [...]
Starmer under fire over China trip amid phone-hacking revelations January 27, 2026 Keir Starmer is under fire over his a trade-focused trip to China this week as further reports of espionage emerged. Chinese officials are believed to have hacked the phones of key government officials, according to The Telegraph. Hackers targeted top aides to UK prime ministers including Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, intelligence sources [...]
FTSE 100 Live: HSBC carries blue-chips; Starmer eyes China trade January 27, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Gold’s magnificent rally was continuing on Tuesday morning after breaking through the $5,100 mark for the first time. The flurry to safe haven assets notched up after Trump threatened Canada with 100 per cent tariffs if the country “made a deal with China”. Last week [...]
Andy Haldane: Labour has ‘no nose for business’ January 26, 2026 The Labour government lacks anyone with a “nose for business”, Andy Haldane, the former chief economist of the Bank of England, has said in his latest critique against ministers’ quest for growth. Haldane, whose criticism of Budget leaks last year added to pressure on Rachel Reeves, has taken aim at ministers leading Labour’s growth mission [...]