How should the UK manage its relationship with China?
Coffee House Shots
The Spectator
4.4 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 31 January 2026
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As Keir Starmer's visit to China draws to a close, Sam Olsen – who runs the States of Play substack – and Times columnist Cindy Yu join Patrick Gibbons to discuss how the UK should manage its relationship with China. Starmer's visit has drawn criticism from various China hawks – and from President Trump – but is there a way for the UK to balance legitimate security concerns with the need to trade with the world's second largest economic power?
Plus, to what extent to the British public care about these geopolitical concerns? Cindy and Sam explain why is it important for policymakers to explain how these trips link back to domestic issues – and Cindy name checks James Cleverly as she highlights the importance of consistency amongst the political class.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots, The Spectators Daily Politics Podcast. |
| 0:09.5 | I'm Patrick Gibbons and today I'm joined by Sam Olson, who runs the States of Play substack |
| 0:13.9 | and Cindy, a big welcome back to Cindy, who regular shots listeners will know. |
| 0:19.0 | Hi, Cindy, hi, hi, Sam. |
| 0:20.1 | Hi. |
| 0:20.5 | Thanks for having me back. |
| 0:21.8 | Cindy, we should probably come to you first. Kirstama's been in China this week. He's still there now. He's in Shanghai. You know, what have you made of Kirstarmer's visit? Is it a big win for Labour or something else? Look, I don't think we can call it a big win, but I don't think it was meant to be some kind of blockbuster visit in any case, |
| 0:40.0 | because actually the optics of that... think we can call it a big win, but I don't think it was meant to be some kind of blockbuster |
| 0:38.3 | visit in any case, because actually the optics of that would have looked so bad if Kiyasama |
| 0:43.8 | looked too chummy with the Chinese, and we're recording this on Friday, and we're hearing |
| 0:49.9 | a bit more about the arrangements that have come out as a result of this, the visa-free travel |
| 0:55.8 | for the 30 days for British nationals, the lifting of sanctions of British MPs, a really big |
| 1:02.2 | AstraZeneca investment deal into China amongst other things as well. But I think, you know, |
| 1:08.5 | some of the reaction has been, is it? Like, is that all we're getting |
| 1:12.4 | from this? And I actually think that if they had come back with a massive trade deal, A, that would |
| 1:18.2 | have really irritated the Americans and Donald Trump is already a little bit, you know, difficult. |
| 1:23.2 | And B, I think that would have made, you know, the British economy look much more in hock to the Chinese economy, much more reliant and much more return to the golden era than actually Kirstalmers would have risked in that sense. |
| 1:34.8 | So, you know, he's in rocking a hard place with this visit because he doesn't want to go too big with it, can't go too small with it. |
| 1:41.6 | And treading that thin line, I think so far, I think this has been a positive |
| 1:46.1 | visit. You know, you mentioned Trump and he's already criticised the British visit and said that |
| 1:50.8 | it would be very dangerous for the UK to do business with China. To your point, is that sort of a sign |
| 1:56.4 | that Britain should have gone bigger if it's going to be bold in moving closer to China. |
... |
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