Peter Kyle, the UK’s newly appointed business secretary, will travel to Beijing this week to resume high-level economic dialogue with China, marking a further step in the Labour government’s effort to revitalise trade ties. The former science and technology secretary, promoted in Friday’s cabinet reshuffle, is expected to land in China on Wednesday, taking over the schedule from his predecessor Jonathan Reynolds, who is now chief whip.
Before heading to Beijing, Kyle will stop in Washington to prepare for Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK, meeting US officials and business leaders. In China, he will hold talks with Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao at the first UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission (Jetco) in seven years. Jetco summits were halted by Boris Johnson in 2019 after Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong protests, with the pandemic further stalling dialogue.
Kyle is the latest senior Labour minister to visit China since the party took power, following Chancellor Rachel Reeves in January and then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy last October. However, due to the short notice and the US trip, he will miss the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (Cifit) in Xiamen, where around 200 British businesses will be represented by a delegation led by James Sassoon.
The trip comes amid cautious optimism from business groups. Tom Simpson of the China-Britain Business Council noted that engagement has steadily improved since the general election, with previously neglected aspects of the relationship being restored. Yet critics question the tangible outcomes so far, with Sam Goodman of the Chinese Strategic Risks Institute pointing out that the £600m investment commitment from Reeves’ January visit was far less than the £2bn secured from Bahrain.
China remains the UK’s fifth-largest export market, worth about £41bn in goods and services. A source close to the UK delegation said, “You cannot address economic growth without addressing China. This is a case of the British government doing the right thing in the national interest, creating jobs in Britain.” The visit underscores the Starmer administration’s balancing act between fostering trade and managing security concerns.
