U.S. President Donald Trump has openly warned Britain against deepening business ties with China, sharpening a transatlantic divide at a moment when a growing number of U.S. allies are reassessing their economic and diplomatic strategies in response to Washington’s increasingly unpredictable trade posture.
Speaking to reporters in Washington ahead of the premiere of the film Melania at the Kennedy Center, Trump said it was “very dangerous” for Britain to be getting into business with Beijing. He offered no further explanation, but the remark landed as Prime Minister Keir Starmer was in China, publicly championing a reset in relations with the world’s second-largest economy.
Starmer’s visit, which included more than three hours of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, reflects a broader recalibration underway among Western and middle-power economies. Faced with Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs, threats against allies, and willingness to upend long-standing trade norms, governments that once kept Beijing at arm’s length are now reopening channels to China in search of economic stability, market access, and strategic optionality.
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During his meeting with Xi, Starmer called for a “more sophisticated relationship” between London and Beijing, pressing for improved market access, lower tariffs, and new investment flows, according to Reuters. The discussions ranged from trade and visas to culture, touching on soccer and Shakespeare, underscoring Starmer’s effort to frame engagement as pragmatic rather than ideological.
Addressing the UK-China Business Forum in Beijing, Starmer described his meetings with Xi as “very warm” and said they had delivered “real progress.” He pointed to agreements on visa-free travel and reduced tariffs on British whisky as tangible outcomes, describing them as “really important access, symbolic of what we’re doing with the relationship.”
“That is the way that we build the mutual trust and respect that is so important,” Starmer said.
The British leader’s message was aimed as much at domestic audiences as at Beijing. Since taking office in July 2024, Starmer’s centre-left Labour government has struggled to deliver faster economic growth, and improving relations with China has become a central pillar of its strategy to attract investment and boost exports. Ahead of his departure for Shanghai, Starmer met senior Chinese executives, including Chery chief executive Yin Tongyue. During the visit, a Liverpool city official said Chery plans to open a research and development center for its commercial vehicle arm in the northern English city.
In London, Trump’s warning drew a sharp rebuttal. British trade department minister Chris Bryant said the U.S. president was “wrong” to describe the UK’s engagement with China as dangerous.
“Of course, we enter into our relationship with China with our eyes wide open,” Bryant told the BBC, emphasizing that Britain was capable of balancing economic interests with national security considerations.
Starmer himself has repeatedly argued that closer economic ties with China do not come at the expense of the UK’s alliance with the United States. Speaking to reporters on the plane to Beijing, he stressed Britain’s long-standing partnership with Washington across defense, security, intelligence, and trade, and insisted London did not have to choose between the two powers. He cited Trump’s own state visit to Britain last September, which unveiled £150 billion in U.S. investment commitments.
A British government official said Washington was given advance notice of Starmer’s objectives for the China trip, an attempt to avoid surprising the White House at a sensitive moment in global trade relations.
Even so, the episode highlights how Trump’s trade policies are increasingly reshaping alliances and geopolitics in ways that may ultimately benefit China. Since returning to the office, Trump has deployed tariffs not only against Beijing but also against close partners, including Canada and the European Union, while floating threats against Denmark over Greenland and pressing allies on defense and trade concessions.
That approach has injected uncertainty into the rules-based global trading system Washington once championed. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney captured that shift last week when he urged countries to accept that the old order was ending, explicitly citing U.S. trade policy. Shortly after Carney struck economic deals with Beijing, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada, reinforcing the perception that engagement with China now carries political risk in Washington.
Trump’s Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, echoed the skepticism toward Britain’s China outreach, telling reporters it was unlikely Starmer’s efforts would pay off.
“The Chinese are the greatest exporters and they are very, very difficult when you’re trying to export to them,” Lutnick said. “So good luck if the British are trying to export to China … it’s just unlikely.”
Asked whether Britain could face Canada-style tariff threats, Lutnick suggested that would depend on London’s tone toward Washington.
Despite Washington’s warnings, others are joining the fray. Countries that once distanced themselves from China during its trade war with the United States are now sending their leaders to Beijing in quick succession. In January alone, at least five national leaders, including Starmer and Carney, met Xi. Ireland’s prime minister visited China earlier this month for the first time in 14 years, while Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi is due in Beijing next week, marking the first South American presidential visit since Trump captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife in early January.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to visit China soon, following French President Emmanuel Macron’s December trip, during which Xi accompanied him on a rare excursion outside Beijing.
Large business delegations have become a common feature of these visits, reflecting the enduring pull of China’s vast consumer market and its role in global manufacturing and supply chains.
Beijing, for its part, has seized the moment to present itself as a stabilizing force amid U.S. volatility, urging visiting leaders to provide fair treatment for Chinese companies and highlighting China’s push for technological self-sufficiency and global influence. Senior Chinese officials have framed the country’s modernization drive as an alternative to a “Western-centric” development model, a message that resonates with both developing economies and advanced nations seeking leverage in dealings with Washington.
Still, the balancing act is delicate. Against the backdrop of Washington’s warning that “China sells nothing but cheap products and cheap friendships,” European leaders, including Macron, have continued to signal willingness to impose tariffs or take defensive measures when Chinese trade practices clash with domestic industrial interests.
Starmer, who has traditionally avoided public confrontation with Trump, has nonetheless shown a greater willingness to push back in recent weeks. He called Trump’s remarks about NATO troops avoiding frontline combat “frankly appalling” and said he would not yield to U.S. pressure over Greenland, signaling a subtle but notable shift in tone.
With all these in view, it is now clear that a transactional approach to trade is accelerating a realignment in global diplomacy. While the United States remains the dominant economic and security power, its unpredictability is prompting allies to hedge, diversify, and reopen doors to China.