Donald Trump has described it as “very dangerous” for Britain to do business with China, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Shanghai on the third day of his official visit to the country.
Trump’s comments followed the announcement of several agreements to boost trade and investment between Britain and China, which were struck after Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Speaking to reporters at the premiere of a documentary about his wife Melania, Trump said “it’s very dangerous” for Britain to cooperate economically with China, although he continued to call Xi a “friend” and said he knew the Chinese leader “very well.”
Beyond these comments, the US president did not elaborate on Britain’s engagement with China, instead directing his criticism at Canada, which he said was in an “even more dangerous” situation. Trump recently threatened tariffs against Canada following economic talks between Ottawa and Beijing.
In response, Downing Street pointed out that Washington had known about Starmer’s visit and his objectives in advance, and pointed out that Trump himself was expected to visit China in April.
Starmer said after talks with Xi at the Great Hall of the People that relations between Britain and China were in a “good, strong state”. Speaking on Friday at a British-Chinese economic forum at the Bank of China in Beijing, the prime minister said the meetings had produced “exactly the level of engagement that we had hoped for”.
“We have been warmly engaged and have made real progress,” Starmer said. “Britain has a lot to offer.”
The results of the visit included an agreement to introduce visa-free travel to China for British visitors, a reduction in Chinese tariffs on British whiskey and a £10.9 billion investment by AstraZeneca to build new production facilities in China. The two sides also announced further cooperation on issues such as organized crime and illegal immigration.
According to the UK’s Department of Business and Trade, the US was the UK’s largest trading partner in 2025, followed by China in fourth place.
Chris Torrens, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, called Starmer’s visit “successful” and said it made sense for Britain to work with one of its key trading partners. He added that several Western leaders had recently visited Beijing or were planning to do so, including Trump.
Opposition MPs criticized the prime minister’s visit, citing concerns about China’s national security and human rights record. China has been accused by the United Nations of serious human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups and received international criticism over its treatment of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused the government of “trading national security for economic crumbs”, while ministers insisted intelligence agencies were closely involved in assessing and managing any risks involved.
Starmer’s visit to China, the first by a British prime minister since 2018, ends in Shanghai before traveling to Tokyo for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, underlining the government’s broader efforts to rebalance economic and diplomatic ties across Asia.
