US President Donald Trump said it was “very dangerous” for the UK to cooperate with China, as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer continued his visit to Beijing to restore relations.
The US president was reacting to agreements aimed at boosting business and investment between the UK and China, announced after Keir met with Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of a three-day trip.
“Well, it’s very dangerous for them to do that,” Trump said at the premiere of a documentary about his wife Melania, when asked what he thought about Britain’s growing business ties with China.
In response to Trump’s comments, Downing Street announced that Washington had been informed in advance about this trip and its objectives.
Trump added nothing further about the UK’s engagement with China, moving instead to Canada and issuing a similar warning.
He said it was “even more dangerous, I think, for Canada.”
“Canada is not doing well. It’s doing very badly and you can’t look to China as the answer,” he added.
Trump earlier this week threatened to impose tariffs on Canada if it continued with economic deals reached with China during a recent visit to Beijing by its Prime Minister, Mark Carney.
The comments come after Sir Keir said the UK’s relationship with China was in a “good and strong state” following his talks with Xi at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday.
