US President Donald Trump has said it would be “very dangerous” for the United Kingdom to increase its business dealings with China, as British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer continued his visit to Beijing to reset bilateral relations.
Trump made the comments while reacting to new agreements aimed at boosting trade and investment between the UK and China. The deals were announced after Sir Keir met Chinese President Xi Jinping during a three-day visit.
Speaking at the premiere of a documentary about his wife Melania, Trump said, “It’s very dangerous for them to do that,” when asked about Britain’s expanding business ties with China.
In response, Downing Street said the US administration had been informed in advance about the trip and its objectives. It also noted that Trump himself is expected to visit China in April.
Trump did not elaborate further on the UK’s engagement with China but shifted his criticism to Canada, warning that closer economic ties with Beijing would be “even more dangerous” for Ottawa.
“Canada is not doing well. They’re doing very poorly, and you can’t look at China as the answer,” Trump said. Earlier this week, he threatened to impose tariffs on Canada if it moved ahead with economic deals agreed during a recent visit to Beijing by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Trump’s remarks came after Sir Keir described UK-China relations as being in a “good, strong place” following talks with Xi at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday.
On Friday, Sir Keir said the meetings had delivered “just the level of engagement that we hoped for,” speaking at the UK-China Business Forum in Beijing. He said the UK had “a huge amount to offer” and that meaningful progress had been made.
Several agreements were announced during the visit, including visa-free travel arrangements, reduced whisky tariffs, and a £10.9 billion investment by pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca to build manufacturing facilities in China. Both sides also agreed to expand cooperation on issues such as organised crime and illegal immigration.
Chris Torrens, chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, described the visit as “successful,” saying it made sense for the UK to engage with one of its largest trading partners. He noted that several Western leaders have recently visited or plan to visit Beijing, including Trump.
Torrens also pointed out that while the US has criticised other countries for doing business with China, it may itself reach an agreement with Beijing later this year. Sir Keir was scheduled to travel to Shanghai before leaving China for Tokyo, where he is due to meet Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for a working dinner.
Meanwhile, opposition politicians in the UK criticised the visit. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Sir Keir of compromising national security for economic gains and described the trip as overly conciliatory towards Beijing.
According to the UK Department for Business and Trade, the United States was Britain’s largest trading partner in 2025, while China ranked fourth.
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