Donald Trump warned on Friday that it would be "very dangerous for them to do that, and it's even more dangerous, I think, for Canada to get into business with China," as British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrived in Shanghai for the next stage of his trip.
The US president’s comments came amid ongoing trade friction between Washington and Ottawa. He added that Canada was doing "poorly" and cautioned that "you can't look at China as the answer". Trump also suggested a 100% tariff on Canadian exports if Ottawa pursued a free‑trade agreement with Beijing, a claim the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, denied.
Carney had visited China in January and secured a preliminary deal to cut tariffs on selected goods. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, has been pressing ahead with its own economic outreach. Sir Keir told Bloomberg before the trip that he would not be forced to choose between Washington and Beijing, saying, "I'm often invited to simply choose between countries. I don't do that."
During the Beijing portion of his visit, Starmer met health minister Ma Xiaowei and Bank of China chairman Ge Haijiao, before moving on to Shanghai, China’s financial hub. The itinerary included meetings with business leaders and the announcement of several trade concessions: tariffs on Scotch whisky will be reduced to 5%, and UK citizens planning trips of less than 30 days will no longer need a visa.
In the energy sector, Octopus Energy Group, the UK’s largest supplier, revealed a joint venture with China’s PCG Power to trade renewable energy within China. UK trade minister Sir Chris Bryant said the president’s assessment was inaccurate, noting that Trump himself has described his relationship with President Xi as a friendship and is expected to travel to China in April.
No 10 has left the door open to a future state visit by President Xi, whose last trip to Britain was in October 2015. Starmer’s China tour is the first by a UK premier since 2018.