US President Donald Trump said Thursday it was “very dangerous” for close ally Britain to deal with China, as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits Beijing for meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
While attending the screening of a documentary on his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, Trump made the comments to reporters.
The president responded, “Well, it’s very dangerous for them to do that,” when asked how he felt about Britain “getting into business” with China.
Guo Jiakun, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, told reporters on Friday that “China is willing to strengthen cooperation with all countries in the spirit of mutual benefit and win-win results” in response to questions over Trump’s remarks.
Starmer’s trip to China is the first by a British prime since 2018. It comes as a number of Western leaders have recently sought a reconciliation with Beijing, which many perceive as a shift away from an increasingly erratic United States.
Starmer signed a number of collaboration agreements during his meeting with Xi and other Chinese officials on Thursday.
This month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also traveled to China, where he signed trade and tourist deals.
Trump retaliated by threatening to strike Canadian imports with 100-percent tariffs if Carney struck further deals with Beijing — a threat the Canadian leader later called as a negotiation technique.
“It’s even more dangerous, I think, for Canada to get into business with China,” Trump continued after making a statement about Britain on Thursday. Canada is struggling. They’re doing pretty poorly, and you can’t look at China as the answer.”
