PM flies out after courting world’s second biggest economy aware of difficult balance of risks and potential rewards
The last British prime minister to visit China was Theresa May in 2018. Before the visit, she and her team were advised to get dressed under the covers because of the risk of hidden cameras having been placed in their hotel rooms to record compromising material.
Keir Starmer, in Beijing this week, was more sanguine about his privacy, even though the security risks have, if anything, increased since the former Tory prime minister was in town.
China has been accused of spying on parliament, has sanctioned British MPs and peers, engaged in severe cyber-attacks, adopted aggressive trade practices and generally been, in the government’s own words, an “epoch-defining challenge”.
“I can confirm that I didn’t,” Starmer replied to whether he had taken refuge while getting dressed. “I’ve always said that we need to seize the opportunities, mindful of our national security.”
