British and Chinese delegations, Great Hall of the People, People's Republic of China - Photo: Vincent Thian

In late January, Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the People's Republic of China. He chose to position his approach in terms of pragmatism, framing the visit as a "pragmatic reset" of UK-China relations after years of tension. Xi Jingping, President of the People's Republic and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, is reported as saying that China and Britain should "look at each other in a positive light" and "respect each other's core interests". He emphasised that co-operation should be the "main theme" of the relationship and praised Starmer for taking a "pragmatic" approach. Reporting to the House of Commons on his visit, which had also included a visit to Japan, Starmer said: "It would be impossible to safeguard our national interests without engaging with this geopolitical reality." This, clearly, is what counts as being pragmatic.

China rolled out a large ceremonial welcome, and gave Starmer high-level access, including a meeting with Xi. Starmer took with him a whole cohort of officials and business leaders, including Business Secretary Peter Kyle. The delegation was 140-strong according to one report, while another put it at nearly 60, including representatives from major British businesses and cultural organisations, including HSBC, GSK, Jaguar Land Rover, and the National Theatre.

The stated goals, according to reports, were the boosting of economic ties developing a "more sophisticated" relationship that balances co-operation with areas of disagreement, strengthening dialogue on global issues such as climate change and international stability, and rebuilding diplomatic channels since the last British visit of Theresa May in 2018. Along these lines, the results could perhaps be described as "modest", as one source put it. The results included the lifting of sanctions on several British MPs and peers, but they certainly did not amount to what was described as serving the fundamental interests of the country - Britain - and its people [1]. Starmer may think of his achievements as delivering new opportunities and growth for the British people. But in reality, were the "brilliant delegation of nearly 60 businesses and cultural powerhouses" an embodiment of the very best of what this country has to offer, as Starmer said in the Commons? The aim is clearly to attract investment and expand export markets. Starmer cannot be a representative of increasing "war readiness" and criminalisation of dissent at home, and at the same time claim to be a peacemaker and champion of human rights abroad. It remains to be seen whether the anti-China rhetoric of the ruling elites will be jettisoned, including the allegations that China has mafia-style "police stations" in Britain. The government had already given the go-ahead to the building of a new Chinese embassy in London shortly before Starmer's visit.

The point is that it is the people who will oppose militarism and the aggression and enmity of which the Starmer government is part. It is in the people's interests to uphold the sovereignty and independence of peoples and resist destruction on a global scale. It cannot be ignored that Starmer's visit to China and Japan [2] took place while the United States, to whom Starmer is subservient, strategically seeks to create rifts between China, Russia and the DPRK. Starmer himself is the promoter of the "coalition of the willing" which is putting its weight behind the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Talk of "expanding mutually beneficial co-operation" sounds somewhat hollow in this context. It is building friendship and solidarity between peoples in their nation-building projects and against imperialist violence which is key, and is an historic task. This is the people's agenda.

Notes
1. In concrete terms, as Starmer reported to Parliament on February 2:
We secured 30-day visa-free travel for all Brits, including business travellers. We secured China's agreement to halve whisky tariffs from 10% to 5%, which is worth £250 million to the UK over the next five years - a significant win for our iconic whisky industry, particularly in Scotland. That lower tariff comes into force today. In total, we secured £2.3 billion in market access wins, including for financial services, £2.2 billion in export deals for British companies and hundreds of millions of pounds-worth of new investments.
In addition, we agreed to work together in some key areas of law enforcement. Last year, around 60% of all small boat engines used by smuggling gangs came from China, so we struck a border security pact to enable joint law enforcement action to disrupt that supply at source. We also agreed to scale up removals of those with no right to be in the UK and to work together to crack down on the supply of synthetic opioids.

2.Starmer said of his Japan visit:
Japan remains one of our closest allies; together, we are the leading economies in the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership, and we are partners in the G7, the G20 and the coalition of the willing ... supporting Ukraine as we work for a just and lasting peace, and deepening our co-operation in cutting-edge defence production, including through the global combat air programme. We discussed how we can boost growth and economic resilience by developing our co-operation.

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