Schroders signs deal with leading Chinese battery maker January 30, 2026 Leading asset management firm Schroders has signed a deal with a Chinese battery making giant, amid chief executive Richard Oldfield’s trip to China, led by prime minister Keir Starmer. The group’s Schroders Greencoat business, which invests in renewable energy infrastructure, signed the deal with Contemporary Amperex Techology (CATL) and Hong Kong based private equity firm [...]
Is Starmer’s China visit a lose-lose trip? January 30, 2026 Starmer was looking for win-win, Golden Era opportunities from his China visit, but the reality has yielded few tangible outcomes.
‘Absolutely bonkers’: Labour minister hits back at Trump’s criticism of China trade January 30, 2026 A Labour minister has hit back at comments from President Donald Trump that trading with China was “very dangerous” for the UK. Sir Chris Bryant, who has served as trade minister since September 2025, said it would be “absolutely bonkers” for the UK not to do business with China. “You have to challenge China on [...]
‘No comment’: City firms on Starmer China trip keep schtum January 29, 2026 When Sir Keir Starmer boarded a British Airways flight to Beijing earlier this week, he brought with him a coterie of leaders from British industry to help fly the flag. More than 50 delegates were invited on the PM’s trip, many from top City institutions such as law firm Clifford Chance and accounting giant PwC. [...]
Starmer: Businesses ‘cry out’ for more trade with China January 29, 2026 Keir Starmer has said businesses are “crying out for ways” to export to Chinese markets as he struck a new deal for British travellers. After meeting President Xi Jinping in China, Starmer defended his government’s ambitions to boost relations with the world’s second largest economy despite questions over security threats posed by state-backed spies and [...]
As Starmer heads to China, Brits rush to buy Chinese EVs January 29, 2026 A couple of years ago, I was invited to the launch of a new Chinese EV brand called Omoda. Myself and a handful of journalists showed up to an inauspicious press event in the basement of a Covent Garden hotel. In the room was parked (I’m still not sure how they got it down there) [...]
Lib Dems: Starmer has gone ‘cap in hand’ to China despite spy threats January 28, 2026 Keir Starmer has been accused of going “cap in hand” to China, piling further criticism on the government’s trade ambitions with a country that has backed hacking operations against the UK. Liberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper demanded deputy prime minister David Lammy, who stood in for Starmer at PMQs, to name a “single consequence” [...]
Three things business needs from a UK China strategy January 28, 2026 The UK must replace its current reactive approach to China with a clear, predictable, and durable strategic framework to provide businesses with the stability needed to manage risk, diversify supply chains, and leverage opportunities in advanced services, says David Bharier Today the Prime Minister is in China for the first UK prime ministerial visit since [...]
Starmer warned on ‘severe’ risk of trading with China January 28, 2026 Keir Starmer has been warned about the “severe” risk of trading with China as he said building economic relations with the world’s second largest economy would drive growth. The Prime Minister landed in Beijing on Wednesday for meetings with Chinese officials including President Xi Jinping in the coming days. He has been joined by City [...]
Starmer is wrong to say he doesn’t have to choose between the US and China January 28, 2026 Is Keir Starmer a geopolitical genius? As he jets off to China for the first visit by a UK Prime Minister since 2018, we must at least consider the possibility that he is. Ahead of his departure Starmer said “I’m often invited to simply choose between countries [but] I don’t do that.” The countries in [...]