Trump warns UK against deepening China ties after Starmer meets Xi

President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Britain against strengthening ties with China, hours after Prime Minister Keir Starmer met President Xi Jinping in Beijing to repair relations after a long period of tension.

Trump’s remarks come as Starmer and Xi called for a renewed “strategic partnership”, highlighting the pressures they face amid global instability.

Speaking to Fox News while in Florida for the premiere of first lady Melania Trump’s documentary, Trump was asked about the UK “going into business with China”.

“Well, it’s very dangerous for them to do that,” Trump said. “And I think it’s even more dangerous for Canada to do business with China.”

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President Donald Trump has warned the UK it is “very dangerous” to deepen trade ties with China after Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)

Trump added that China was not the solution for Western economies, despite his personal relationship with Xi. “I know China very well. I know President Xi is a friend of mine, and I know him very well, but this is a major hurdle to overcome,” he said, before joking that Beijing might ban Canada from playing ice hockey.

“This is not good. Canada is not going to like this,” he added.

Trump had already criticized the Canadian Prime Minister Marc Carney after Carney’s visit to China and then warned that “China would eat Canada alive.”

Trump’s latest comments follow an 80-minute meeting in Beijing between Starmer and Xi in which the leaders sought to thaw relations after several years of diplomatic chill.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via Reuters)

The Associated Press reported that neither leader mentioned Trump directly during their discussions Thursday.

“In the current turbulent and ever-changing international situation, China and the United Kingdom should strengthen dialogue and cooperation to maintain global peace and stability,” Xi told Starmer, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Xi also warned that if major powers fail to respect international law, the world risks falling into a “jungle.”

Starmer said cooperation on climate change and global stability was “precisely what we should be doing,” The Associated Press also reported.

The outlet also reported that Starmer called the meeting “very productive” and mentioned progress on whiskey tariffs, visa-free travel to China for British citizens and cooperation on migration.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting in Beijing on Thursday January 29, 2026. (Carl Court/Pool photo via AP)

As Fox News Digital previously reported, Starmer sought Xi’s help in disrupting the supply of Chinese-made small boat engines that the Office of the British Leader said are used to smuggle people across the Channel.

He also raised concerns over human rights and Iran’s nuclear program.

Starmer is the first British prime minister to visit China in eight years and the fourth US-allied leader to do so this month, signaling a desire by Beijing to re-engage its Western partners.

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The visit also came as the UK navigates trade alignment with the US, defense cooperation in the Arctic regions and negotiations over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.

In November, the United States and China reached an agreement easing some tariffs and export controls, boosting U.S. agricultural exports, limiting flows of fentanyl precursors and easing pressure on U.S. semiconductor and shipping companies.

Fox News Digital has contacted the White House for comment.