China has agreed to allow British citizens to travel for up to 30 days without a visa following talks between Keir Starmer and President Xi Jinping in Beijing…reports Asian Lite News
China has agreed to allow British citizens to travel to the country for up to 30 days without a visa, Downing Street has said, following talks between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Starmer is the first British leader to visit China in eight years, and the government says the agreement could benefit hundreds of thousands of people.
There is no date for when the visa deal will come into force, but the government said it hoped it would happen as soon as possible. Around 620,000 British citizens travelled to China in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics. Downing Street said the change would bring the UK into line with around 50 other countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Australia and Japan.
Starmer said the move would make it easier for businesses to expand in China and for people to travel for leisure. “As one of the world’s economic powerhouses, businesses have been crying out for ways to grow their footprints in China,” he said. “We’ll make it easier for them to do so – including via relaxed visa rules for short-term travel – supporting them to expand abroad, all while boosting growth and jobs at home.”
The visit also saw an agreement to cut import taxes on UK whisky from 10% to 5%, as part of efforts to strengthen trade links. Downing Street said the UK and China had agreed to explore whether to enter negotiations on a services agreement, which would establish legally binding rules for UK firms operating in China. The UK is the world’s second largest exporter of services, including finance, healthcare and legal services, and the government said demand from China in these areas was growing.
Starmer said he had also raised sensitive issues, including the jailing of pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai and the treatment of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang. “Part of the rationale for engagement is to make sure that we can both seize the opportunities that are available, which is what we’ve done, but also have a mature discussion about issues that we disagree on,” he said.
US President Donald Trump said it was “very dangerous” for the UK to deal with China when asked about the talks. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she would not have travelled to China at this time if she were prime minister, while Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller said Sir Keir’s approach was “all give and no take”.
President Xi said UK-China relations had gone through “some twists and turns that did not serve the interests of our countries”, and argued dialogue was “imperative” in a “turbulent and fluid” world. He said the two leaders would “stand the test of history” if they could “rise above differences”.
