Taken from CNBC’s Daily Open, our international markets newsletter — Subscribe today
All eyes are on U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he begins a high-stakes, three-day trip to China, the first by a British prime minister since 2018.
Starmer is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday, accompanied by nearly 60 British businesses and cultural organizations, according to an official U.K. readout. The agenda spans trade, investment and national security, underscoring the breadth and sensitivity of the talks.
Among those traveling are executives from HSBC Group, Aberdeen Group, aircraft giant Airbus, British Airways, AstraZeneca and GSK, signaling a concerted push to deepen commercial ties even as geopolitical tensions linger.
The visit comes just one day after India and the European Union announced a “landmark” free trade deal, part of a broader surge in bilateral trade agreements, as countries recalibrate supply chains and commercial ties in response to Washington’s increasingly muscular use of tariffs.
