The Delhi High Court has stayed proceedings in a criminal defamation case filed against Sudarshan TV and its editor Suresh Chavhanke in connection with allegations that his channel made false accusations against a madrasa. The case against Chavhanke was filed by Mohammed Tufail Khan
China said on Sunday (August 23, 2026) it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang'e-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon. The Chang'e-7 spacecraft was originally set to lift off in the coming days from the Wenchang Space Launch
Canada’s Carney Puts His ‘No Deal Is Better Than a Bad Deal’ Doctrine to the Test The prime minister ’s approach has broad support from the Canadian public and his political opponents, but it isn’t without risks. Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 14:05:27 IST WSJ Prefer HTon Google Share via
A group of former cricket captains, including Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar and one of England's longest-serving skippers Sir Alastair Cook, have called on Pakistan to ensure its ex-PM Imran Khan be given proper care while in custody. The cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since
Fewer than 20 commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, shipping data showed on Monday (August 24, 2026), as Iranian and U.S. blockades restrict traffic through the chokepoint for energy shipments. Four vessels crossed the strait on Sunday (August 23, 2026)
Keir Starmer wants UK Plc to win over China’s Xi without annoying Trump
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in Beijing to boost trade with China. He aims to expand export business for British industries. Starmer is navigating a delicate balance between China and the United States. He is accompanied by business and cultural leaders. The UK is seeing a surge in Chinese electric vehicle imports.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing on Wednesday confident he can do what few leaders have shown the political dexterity to pull off: broaden trade ties with China without annoying President Donald Trump.
“I'm often invited to simply choose between countries,” Starmer said in an interview with Bloomberg before departing London for four days of talks with officials including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday. “I don't do that.”
The UK leader is bringing a delegation heavy on British banking executives — from HSBC Holdings Plc, Barclays Plc and Standard Chartered Plc — and cultural emissaries representing the arts and sports. A range of manufacturers are also making the trip, including Airbus SE, AstraZeneca Plc, Brompton Bikes, Jaguar Land Rover and McLaren Automotive Ltd. Starmer arrived in the Chinese capital mid-morning Wednesday, UK time.
Also Read: UK approves China plan for its largest embassy in Europe despite espionage fears
Starmer's goal of opening up more export business for British industries is the same, whether it applies to the US or China. But his successes with Trump meant catering to a transactional, impulsive US president. China takes a much more methodical approach to deals and decisions that often take years to negotiate.
Sam Lowe, a partner at Flint Global in London and head of its trade and market access practice, said the UK's effort to “split the economy into ‘things we can trade with China' and ‘things we can't trade with China' makes sense” for now.
Longer term, however, those separate tracks will be increasingly difficult to manage in areas such as digital commerce, where the world's biggest economies are jockeying for supremacy and “where concerns around data and access to data spread across every sector,” he said.
Starmer's goal of opening up more export business for British industries is the same, whether it applies to the US or China. But his successes with Trump meant catering to a transactional, impulsive US president. China takes a much more methodical approach to deals and decisions that often take years to negotiate.
Sam Lowe, a partner at Flint Global in London and head of its trade and market access practice, said the UK's effort to “split the economy into ‘things we can trade with China' and ‘things we can't trade with China' makes sense” for now.
Longer term, however, those separate tracks will be increasingly difficult to manage in areas such as digital commerce, where the world's biggest economies are jockeying for supremacy and “where concerns around data and access to data spread across every sector,” he said.
Starmer departs just days after the US president threatened Canadian products with 100% tariffs after Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit earlier this month to Beijing. Carney secured a retreat from an earlier trade scuffle with China: Ottawa will allow some Chinese electric vehicles to be imported annually, in exchange for China lowering tariffs on Canadian rapeseed shipments.
Britain's PM has built a more cordial relationship with the White House, but Trump lashed out at Starmer last week, criticizing his plans to return sovereignty of Diego Garcia — the largest of the Chagos islands that houses a crucial military base — to Mauritius.
To avoid a flareup that endangers the US-UK trade agreement, Starmer aims to downplay Britain's Chinese imports and highlight its services industries. His overarching goal will be to maintain the current stretch of calm with both Beijing and Washington — as well as adhering to domestic priorities of free trade and sustainability.
“President Trump's unpredictability and willingness to reverse course, as we saw on his approach to Carney's trade truce with China and on the UK's Chagos deal, means that Starmer will need to maintain a carefully balanced narrative,” said Allie Renison, director at consultancy SEC Newgate UK and a former trade adviser to the Conservative government.
Beyond the geopolitics, Starmer is presiding over an economy where consumers, feeling squeezed by inflation and concerned about job security, are warming not only to cheap Chinese imports available on e-commerce sites like Temu and Shein, but to higher-priced items that compete with US and European producers.
Unlike the US and the European Union, Britain has no punitive tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. As a result, it has become a leading destination for new models from BYD Co. and Chery Automobile Co., which are rapidly gaining market share against competitors like Tesla Inc.
BYD Boom
BYD nearly quintupled its sales in the UK last year, registering more than 51,400 new cars and pulling ahead of both Tesla, whose sales fell almost 10%, and BMW AG's British marque Mini.
MG, the legacy British brand owned by China's SAIC Motor Corp., had an even better year, selling more than 85,000 new cars. That was more than Land Rover and only just shy of the number of Toyotas registered in the UK.
Also Read: BYD weighs India expansion as hundreds of car orders pile up
Bloomberg
“Almost all the brands are here, so all have a place in this market,” Victor Zhang, Chery's UK director, said in an interview. “This is also good for consumers” who are embracing the vehicles not just for their affordability but also their reliability and brand perceptions.
He said Chery wants to broaden its reach to 130 or 140 dealerships in the UK this year from about 100 currently, including an expansion in Northern Ireland.
Starmer will hope this openness, and his government's decision to approve China's new embassy in London, ultimately help Britain's services sector, said David Henig, director of UK trade policy at the European Centre for International Political Economy. “That, however, is probably the limit to what can be achieved given the risks of US wrath and domestic concerns centered around security.”
It's not just autos. Shop online in the UK for a new smartphone on Argos, a unit of J Sainsbury Plc, and you'll find Apple iPhones and Samsung models alongside much cheaper offerings from Xiaomi Corp., the Hong Kong electronics company initially banned in the US on national-security grounds before being given a reprieve.
No such stigma against Chinese products exists among many British consumers. Apple and Samsung still dominate but Chinese competition is intensifying.
“In the UK market, consumers are welcoming any good brand that gives them high quality and value for money,” said Celine Tang, retail and e-commerce sector lead with the China-Britain Business Council, a group that promotes UK-China trade and investment.
As Chinese manufacturers transition from little-known mass-producers of goods to distinct international brands on par with established leading names, British consumers are an ideal market because its shoppers “are always looking for other options and alternatives,” she said.
Bloomberg
In the US over the past decade, China's rising bilateral trade imbalance was the chief catalyst of a bipartisan backlash that helped give rise to Trump's protectionist trade policies.
By contrast, the UK remains largely open to Chinese trade despite a growing deficit driven by phones, computers and cars. China is gaining on Germany as the largest single source of Britain's imports.
Recently, UK public opinion has warmed toward China, according to YouGov polling released over the weekend. Its Jan. 21-22 survey showed the share of respondents who view China as a friend or a friendly rival rose to 27%, up from 19% in an October survey. The only other country from a list of 15 that showed any noticeable move was the US, whose friendliness factor fell to 52% from 69%.
It's unclear what Starmer will bring home from the trip. He could ask for Chinese investment in a popular, job-producing industry such as cars or battery manufacturing, though that may risk the ire of the White House.
Speaking to reporters on the flight to Beijing, Starmer said he was pursuing new arrangements that would make it easier for British businesspeople to travel to China. “I hope we can make some progress, but I'm not going to get ahead of myself,” he said when asked if he would strike a visa-free deal this week.
The trip could also see China give the go-ahead for the UK to rebuild its dilapidated embassy in Beijing. When senior ministers visited previously, diplomats hastily painted over the walls and sprayed air freshener to hide the cracked facade and plumbing issues, one official said. Rats have also been spotted at the embassy, they added.
The prime minister could certainly do with a win as rivals in his governing Labour Party eye his job. Starmer told Bloomberg the public had given him a personal mandate to lead Britain for five years, signaling to his critics that he wouldn't bow to the pressure.
Nonetheless, Trump's trade officials would likely frown on any sign that Britain is opening the floodgates to Chinese investment. Last week US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that while the impact of the Canada-China trade announcement was “overblown,” he indicated that allowing Chinese investments in Canada may cross a line.
Bloomberg
Starmer's trip, running Wednesday through Saturday, will be the first visit of a British prime minister to China in eight years and another chance to reset a relationship that's run hot and cold.
‘Golden Age'
Back in October 2015, former UK Prime Minister David Cameron and China's Xi clinked pint glasses to toast a “golden age” of UK-China relations. The backdrop was The Plough at Cadsden, a 16th-century pub that's popular among walkers along The Ridgeway, Britain's oldest road, and just a short drive from Chequers, the country retreat for UK leaders.
Four months after that photo op, Cameron announced the Brexit referendum would be held in June 2016. Several months later, the pub was reportedly purchased by a Chinese investor who had planned to export its cozy charm and develop English pubs across China.
More recently, The Plough's future looks as uncertain as the UK's place in the new world order.
On Saturday, locals and hikers walking along the muddy trail stopped to admire the old brick building with a few empty beer kegs sitting outside. The Plough's garden furniture is deteriorating, and an antique sign visible in the Cameron-Xi event is absent. The townspeople said they're not really sure what's next for it.
Since the holidays, the only thing they've heard is it's closed indefinitely for renovations.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
Source: EconomicTimes
Related Posts: Keir Starmer,China trade relations,Donald Trump,Xi Jinping,tariffs on Chinese goods,British exports,UK economy,UK CHina ties,Keir Starmer China trip,UK US relation
India had asked the United States not to allow reporters to ask questions during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France in June, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Saturday
8 hours ago
Former Australian captain Greg Chappell with the support of 20 other former international skippers appealed to the Pakistan Government led by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, to provide ‘humane treatment and proper medical care’ for Imran Khan
11 hours ago
The shock resignation of Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran earlier this month has left corporate India's top job vacant. But finding his successor will be no easy task for the country's most revered conglomerate, whose sprawling $300bn empire spans Jaguar Land Rover and Air India as well as
11 hours ago
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian defended a memorandum of understanding with the United States as the best way out of a stalled war. Meanwhile, the new head of the Islamic Republic's top security body warned, in a more forceful tone, of retaliation if neighbouring countries support U.S
11 hours ago
Authorities in China have launched an investigation into reports of formaldehyde being used to preserve the freshness of cabbages for human consumption. Officials in the northeastern Hebei province confirmed that they had verified footage showing individuals dipping cabbages in a solution before
11 hours ago
Three newborns died after a fire that broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit of a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Amravati district in the early hours of Monday, PTI reported. The fire broke out at the Amravati District Women’s Hospital around 3
11 hours ago
Imran's party demands immediate cardiac care for him at Shifa International Hospital Imran's party demands immediate cardiac care for him at Shifa International Hospital Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 11:10:49 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Islamabad
11 hours ago
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s three-day visit to New Delhi in July 2026 for the India-Japan summit appears to have elevated relations between the two Asian countries into a fresh phase of strategic expansion. Ties had already undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade
11 hours ago
How well do COVID antivirals actually work? Not as well as we thought How well do COVID antivirals actually work? Not as well as we thought Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 11:11:50 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Sydeny, If you're aged over 70
11 hours ago
On Sunday, in a post on X, Wali said the audio contained "explosive evidence" and claimed that Brar admitted his gang had ordered Nijjar's killing, alleging that the assassination was driven by an inter-gang feud. Ottawa: Three years after NIA designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in
14 hours ago
Until recently, there would have been little to distinguish Vietnam's so-called Justice Tree from the hundreds of others lining the streets of Hanoi. Then the bouquets started piling up. It was here that former politician Nguyen Sy Cuong was driving his BMW in May last year when he veered into the
14 hours ago
Fast-fashion giant Shein says it plans to raise up to HK13.86bn (£1.3bn; $1.77bn) when its shares start trading on the Hong Kong stock market on 1 September. In a filing on Monday, Shein said it will offer nearly 280 million shares for between HK$47.60 and HK$49.50
14 hours ago
A fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire near Reno, Nevada, has forced about 42,000 people to evacuate, while another 45,000 have been urged to prepare to leave. The Hawk Fire has burned 15,040 acres, destroyed some homes and injured six people. Officials declared a state of emergency as the blaze
14 hours ago
Former Indian diplomat Navdeep Suri has raised concerns about the verification process under the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Suri, a retired Indian Foreign Services officer, went through the process in Punjab. It is among the 16 states where the voter roll revision is being
14 hours ago
A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 rattled eastern Japan, including the Tokyo area, early Sunday (August 23, 2026), injuring more than 20 people, most of them slightly, officials said. There was no danger of a tsunami. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency
1 days ago
Chinese humanoid robots broke records set by humans, including beating Usain Bolt’s 100-meter sprint world record, on the opening day of the Olympics-like World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday (August 22, 2026). More than 2,000 humanoid robots were participating in the event
1 days ago
One afternoon in 1907, a young accountant named Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman walked into the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science at 210 Bowbazar Street in Calcutta. Though he had a passion for the sciences, colonial India offered no stable careers in the field
1 days ago
Three first information reports were filed against 14 identified and more than 200 unidentified persons on Saturday in connection with clashes between the police and student protesters a day earlier, PTI quoted Ranchi Superintendent of Police Paras Rana as saying
1 days ago
Did an Amazon delivery guy assault a 71-year-old man in California? What we know about the attack and lawsuit A California lawsuit alleged that an Amazon delivery driver assaulted a 71-year-old man at an Elk Grove gas station. Updated on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
‘Pure evil’: Videos of mothers splashing water at their kids spark outrage amid Lindsay Clancy trial Social media videos of mothers throwing water at their children have sparked concerns amid Lindsay Clancy's trial. Published on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
The sister of jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday (August 22, 2026) filed a petition in the Supreme Court, accusing the government and senior officials of violating the top court’s order to shift him to a private hospital for medical examination and treatment
1 days ago
The United States and Canada have entered into uncharted territory. The longtime allies and economic partners, who have enjoyed free trade for decades, are now in an escalating trade war with no clear off ramp. And for Prime Minister Mark Carney
1 days ago
Harrisburg weather update: Special Weather Statement issued for central Pennsylvania as thunderstorms bring 40mph wind NWS has issued a Special Weather Statement for Harrisburg and surrounding parts of central Pennsylvania. Published on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
The police in Maharashtra’s Latur have registered a first information report against Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, for allegedly entering a government school without permission, threatening teachers and defaming the institution
1 days ago
The United States and Iran exchanged defiant messages ahead of Monday’s (August 24, 2026) scheduled announcement of new U.S. economic sanctions that could impact the Islamic Republic and Tehran’s most important trading partners including China
1 days ago
Fourteen people were killed in military air strikes at a monastery in Myanmar early on Friday, opposition fighters and a local rescue worker have said. All of those killed were elderly and a number of monks were also injured, the rescue worker told BBC Burmese, adding that the site was struck twice
1 days ago
The Armed Forces Tribunal on Thursday upheld an administrative censure for a brigadier who was commanding a sector of the Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district in December 2023 when three civilians died during an interrogation following a militant attack
1 days ago
