UK Prime Minister Starmer gives an exclusive interview to BBC on his visit to China

Kier Starmer: "We will always prioritize national security." "But it would be reckless to avoid reality and claim we are not prepared for engagement at all."

Reporter Gary Gibbons: "US President Trump said what you are doing is extremely dangerous."

Kier Starmer: "China is the world's second-largest economy, and with Hong Kong included, it is our third-largest trading partner. This visit to China was a huge success."

"I watched the clips of Trump."

"Fairly speaking, his comments were more targeted at Canada than at us, the UK."

"As close allies, we had already communicated with his team about this itinerary before our visit to China."

"Trump himself is expected to visit China as well."

"France has recently visited, and Germany will also visit China in a few months. It would be inappropriate for us, the UK, to avoid reality and miss out on opportunities."

Comment: Trump, on one hand, is planning to visit China (to reap economic benefits), while on the other hand, he forbids his allies from cooperating with China (afraid they might break free from his control). This is essentially a double standard — "only officials can set fire, but commoners cannot even light a match."

Starmer's response is very clever: he neither denies Trump nor abandons cooperation with China — using terms like "close allies" and "pre-communication" to maintain the alliance relationship, and using "France and Germany's actions plus our own trade needs" to justify the rationality of cooperation. Essentially, it's "alliance is alliance, interests are interests," placing British interests above the subordinate position in the US-UK alliance. This is also a subtle counterbalance to American hegemony: when the UK no longer follows the U.S. blindly, but instead follows its own economic needs, the Western unified front against China will only become looser. The difficulty for Trump to surround China through allies will be greater, which is the core of the "American hegemony anxiety."

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855813244724227/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.