‘PROPAGANDA TRIP!’ – Starmer risks British SECURITY for ‘PATHETIC’ China sideshow

0 January 30, 2026 11:00

As he wandered around the Forbidden City in Beijing, Sir Keir Starmer could have afforded himself a wistful smile.

More than half a millennium after its construction, Sir Keir found himself walking among the ornate buildings which once housed the Ming and Qing dynasties.

But this is a political leader in a very different position – he has been dramatically weakened by repeated leadership threats, plagued by multiple embarrassing U-turns and the economy he oversees is spluttering.

Sir Keir’s big hope from this landmark trip to China was to boost trade between the two countries.

While a reduction in whisky tariffs is welcome, it’s no big bazooka. As was AstraZeneca’s £10 billion investment plans for China, and a new deal on visa-free travel.

They are the equivalent of the Chinese delicacy dim sum, bite-sized morsels that merely tickle the taste buds, but leave you hungry for more.

Even the US President Donald Trump warned it would be “dangerous” for the UK to do business with China, as Sir Keir Starmer touched down in Shanghai for the next leg of his trip to the country.

Read Daily Express: https://www.express.co.uk
Like Daily Express on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DailyExpress
Follow Daily Express on X: https://x.com/Daily_Express
Follow Daily Express on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailyexpress/

#DailyExpress #News #keirstarmer #china #ukpolitics #chinesepolitics #xijinping #labour #spying #chinesespy #geopolitics

Tags: Daily Express, Daily Express UK, Daily Express videos, Express News, Express news today, Latest UK news