Is Starmer’s China Visit a Lose-Lose Trip?

The UK’s trade with China has doubled ‍ while⁢ the UK’s ​market⁤ share for goods and services‍ in China fell last year⁣ after remaining‌ largely ​unchanged since 2014.

Despite the framing‌ of China as⁤ a ‌natural partner to‌ drive growth in the UK ⁤economy, China only accounts for ⁢0.2 per cent of foreign direct investment, which contrasts starkly against the USA which accounts for ⁤ £1 in every £3 of foreign investment.

The UK public is all too ​aware of the ‌high price of getting Chinese investment into the UK wrong, whether that is the £2bn of taxpayer money being spent on stripping Huawei‍ from our‍ 5G telecommunications network or the £700m ⁢given to China Nuclear general‍ to exit Sizewell C.

Past “successes” of the‍ UK-China ‍economic relationship ​have not stood the test of time. The ‍Chinese owner of lotus last year announced the cutting‍ of 42‍ per cent ‌of its UK workforce, while UK-listed pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca’s local ‍executives continue to⁤ languish in‍ jail in China on allegations of fraud and violating the country’s Data Security Law.

China trip ⁢yields ‌few tangible wins

Similar to‍ the recent visits of​ Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney‌ and French President Emmanuel Macron to Beijing, the tangible outcomes from this visit appear ⁤few and far between. Thes announcements include non-binding Memorandums of Understanding, the