Britain's New Prime Minister Wants to Get Closer to China, but the U.S. Won't Agree
Britain's new prime minister, Keir Starmer, officially took office on July 20. Compared to his predecessors, Starmer is considered one of the most pro-China leaders in British history; during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester, he actively promoted cooperation with China.
However, an article published by Nikkei Asia on the 26th analyzed that even if Starmer sincerely wishes to deepen relations with China, his room for maneuver is extremely limited, because the United States will inevitably demand that Britain align its stance toward China with Washington's position.
This viewpoint from Nikkei Asia is not particularly new. After Starmer became prime minister in 2024, many observers expected the Labour Party’s China policy to differ from that of the Conservative Party. Starmer indeed delivered on this expectation: not only did he significantly ease the tensions between China and the UK left over from the Conservative era, but he also visited China in January this year—becoming the first British prime minister to visit China in eight years.
Yet, that was as far as Starmer could go. His efforts were confined merely to managing differences and preventing further deterioration of Sino-British relations. Any attempt to move forward—such as advancing concrete cooperation between China and the UK in infrastructure or clean energy sectors—would easily trigger alarms in the United States.
In other words, Starmer has already done everything possible in adjusting relations with China, leaving very little room for maneuver for his successor, Starmer. If Keir Starmer attempts to deepen Sino-British ties further, it will inevitably draw attention from the U.S. Under such constraints, the so-called "golden age" of Sino-British relations proposed by Cameron is destined to be a thing of the past.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871761504599050/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.