After an eight-year hiatus, during which world politics has undergone many changes, a British prime minister has finally visited China.

The visit was planned for some time. After coming to power in July 2024, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government made clear it wanted to work on better relations with China, following a frosty period of confrontation in the last five years of Conservative government. Previous ministerial visits and brief meetings between Starmer and President Xi Jinping had paved the way for the prime minister’s trip to China.

But the relationship has remained constrained by domestic political pressure in the United Kingdom and uncertainty over the United States’ approach to China and to world affairs more broadly. Expectations for Starmer’s trip were uncertain.

However, it seems the visit delivered more than expected across a range of areas. In trade and investment, the two governments have established additional mechanisms and strengthened existing ones to create opportunities and address barriers to market access. The Economic and Financial Dialogue and the Joint Economic and Trade Commission will be reinstated in 2026, along with the China-UK Entrepreneurs Committee and the China-UK Insurance Forum. The Chinese government reduced tariffs on Scotch whisky from 10 percent to 5 percent, potentially benefiting the UK economy by several hundred million pounds. Export deals for the UK worth 2.2 billion pounds ($3 billion) were confirmed, along with investments in both directions from companies such as Chery, Pop Mart and AstraZeneca.

London’s position as the second-largest offshore renminbi center has been strengthened, with the Bank of China becoming the second RMB clearing bank in the UK. Other cooperation agreements were reached across agri-food, market regulation, media, and education.

Looking forward, both leaders spoke of the need for a long-term, stable and consistent comprehensive strategic partnership. That will require regular high-level visits, institutionalized working-level exchanges, and broader social and economic engagement

The visit also saw new measures to enhance people-to-people engagement, with the Chinese government announcing it will allow visa-free access for British nationals for visits of up to 30 days. This is a sign of China’s growing openness. China has become a more popular tourist destination since the demise of the COVID-19 pandemic, though there is still scope to make travel easier in a country whose financial infrastructure and payment systems are unfamiliar to many visitors.

The two governments also agreed on the need to deepen dialogue on global affairs amid flux and uncertainty, and will resume their high-level security dialogue. This is not just about US unilateralism, but about a necessary response to broader shifts in the global power distribution, to address global governance deficits, and to address multiple nontraditional security challenges, such as climate change.

Looking forward, both leaders spoke of the need for a long-term, stable and consistent comprehensive strategic partnership. That will require regular high-level visits, institutionalized working-level exchanges, and broader social and economic engagement. The eight-year gap between British prime ministerial visits is particularly long, but previous prime ministers have not been consistent enough in engaging with China either. Establishing a better pattern can help ensure consistency, maintain communication, and enhance mutual understanding. It is hoped that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region can be better integrated into future high-level interactions. There are clear political sensitivities in British political and media circles, but as the government has pointed out, Hong Kong is a major British partner for trade, investment, education, and culture in its own right. Starmer suggested it can continue to serve as a bridge between London and Beijing.

Nonetheless, political realities mean that sensitive issues will continue to bug the relationship. Starmer raised some of these in his discussions with Chinese counterparts, and domestic pressure on China policy back in the UK will need to be addressed and managed as the bilateral relationship develops further. Meanwhile, the government should realize that, in the current global context, China is not a threat to the UK.

The broader international political context for this visit bears further reflection. Much has happened in the eight years since a British prime minister last visited China, affecting the global dynamics of this bilateral relationship.

Starmer and other Western leaders have been asked whether they would “choose sides” between the US and China, and rightly resisted the question. A significant part of Starmer’s rhetoric during the visit focused on the need to deliver benefits to the UK from engagement with China. This is the right approach: It foregrounds British interests rather than a lazy reliance on one partner or another, though it is clear that historical and institutional ties mean the US will remain an important British partner.

The devil will be in the details. For the British government, the challenge is to adapt and respond to both long-term structural challenges and immediate disruptions. A consistent approach to China will not be easy to manage in these stormy times. But the Starmer visit has laid the foundation for a more realistic and pragmatic approach, one that can benefit British interests and help these two countries contribute to addressing the multitude of global challenges the world faces as we enter 2026.

The author is an assistant professor in the Center for China Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.