The PM will search in vain for growth from more trade with China. Our exports to China were a lowly £30bn in 2024 so a 10% boost would only be 0.1% of our GDP. Meanwhile our imports were a much larger £72.5bn, more than double our exports. A 10% increase in those would cut our GDP by 0.2%. In practice the PM claims a derisory boost of just £50 m a year to our exports in a £3 trillion economy! He doesn’t forecast the increase in our imports which are likely to exceed that tiny total, meaning less overall GDP for UK.
The truth is there is not much we produce that China needs. Meanwhile the government’s deindustrialisation policies of dear energy, bans and high taxes in the name of net zero create plenty of scope for China to export to us. China dominates the supply of solar panels. It is big in wind towers and turbines, and is coming to dominate in batteries and battery cars. These are the products that lead our lists of imports, assisted by miscellaneous manufactures as UK industry is driven to closure by high taxes and costs.
China does want to copy our success in creating great universities, in generating plenty of innovations, in financial services, in culture and entertainment and the other service exports we are good at. It will pick up much useful insight by sending some of its brightest and best students to the UK and by getting them onto important research projects for further degrees. It will encourage some UK firms to collaborate, including supplying their best intellectual property. Some Chinese business people simply copy western brands and technologies without paying royalties or buying the rights.
China is following a China first policy. It intends to control the intellectual property, own the raw materials and set up the manufacturing facilities at home. The UK government is misguided if it thinks the UK can win large amounts of goods orders from China and sustain their role as a long term supplier, given the domestic focus of Chinese policy.
January 30, 2026
Good morning.
This is about global if not regional dominance. Weakening a our nation, and in particular the Commonwealth, is China’s game. The US did much the same thing post WWII. It wanted to be the dominate global player and so sought concessions from the UK such as dismantling the Empire and handing over leases for Island bases.
The UK, post WWII, has lurched from the arms of one would be suitor to another, being spurned or mistreated in each case. It is time we stopped acting like a great power and set our own path rather than trying to imitate others or pretending to be ‘friends’. We are competitors and, the sooner we realise this and set up our nation to be competitive we will once again gain respect.
January 30, 2026
We are not competitors, we are supplicants.
Most of the Commonwealth are so poor and backward that the King has always avoided visiting. The Dominions are attacked and destroyed by the WEF and the EU.
Australia is about to sign a ‘trade agreement’ with the EU which will include ‘freedom of movement’.
More will need to be spent on bigger and faster rubber dinghies to facilitate this.
Reeves not in China with the PM, crying on the front bench again.
Is she finished at last?
January 30, 2026
Meanwhile, various newspapers report Trump saying Starmer’s visit to China is ‘very dangerous’.
Starmer has come away with little. There is the laughable agreement to try to prevent Chinese motors from powering the dinghy people who head for our shores.
On the subject of ‘very dangerous’, the weekend approaches and the US carrier fleet is now within striking distance of Iran. Trump has threatened violence and Iran is not prepared to bow to Trump’s terms. There is speculation that Iran has weapons from China and Russia capable of disabling, but not sinking an aircraft carrier. Israel is still keen on an attack and it would also distract from bad publicity over ICE in Minnesota and the lack of progress with Epstein issues.
January 30, 2026
And now we have the EU trying to systematically destroy our motor industry in retaliation for Brexit. This is on top of milibrains letting China floid the market with EVs.
2TK breathlessly announced tariffs on whisky down from 10 to 5%. What a plank.
But still he’s been able to reassure them that he will keep trying to give away Chagos and allow thousands of Chinese artisans in to complete the spy centre.
January 30, 2026
The visit is a charade, as today’s post indicates. China wants remarkably little from us that it can’t easier and cheaper get elsewhere. We’re just a quaint place to visit for looking at palaces, and a potential source of western security secrets.
Everyone knows they are a massive, expanding economy, but the public is being duped that a trade deal with China will necessarily bring Chinese-size economic benefits to us. It doesn’t work that way, and Starmer knows it.
January 30, 2026
What did the new, naive head UK trade negotiator give away this time? I do hope he treated this is a learning, not doing, visit. Was the trip worth giving away the new Chinese spy embassy?
Looking forward to a detailed analysis of the wins and giveaways in his report the parliament.
Meanwhile businesses in UK closing and people losing gainful employment, does 2TK worry?
January 30, 2026
“China wants remarkably little from us”
indeed, it just wants access to our Market, Universities, and the continuance of our net Zero policies.
The new embassy will aid further information collection.
I see Astra Zeneca are now investing in China, and Starmer calls this visit a success !
January 30, 2026
The Chinese, so I have read, are masters at studying and copying.
What we think we are good at now, they will carefully study, replicate and overtake the market.
A series of articles a few years back in The Salisbury Review written by an Australian journalist, showed how China
first played the ‘friend’ and co-operative partnership card but once they’d learned all they could, played the investment card to the point of them being dominant and relied upon, then they tried to turn the soft power into a more dictatorial one.
Isn’t that what they are doing globally?
January 30, 2026
There is no plan to grow the economy. Everything Labour is doing is damaging it and weakening the United Kingdom.
His little jaunt to China appears to me to have two purposes:
1. An attempt to, politically, position the UK closer to China and further away from the USA …. in order to turn us into a Chinese-style surveillance state with no freedom of speech and a social credit system to control dissenters
2. To demonstrate his “credentials” for a Globalist role when he’s kicked out of No.10 …. probably at the ICJ, where China has a great deal of influence.
“Growing the economy” doesn’t come into it.
January 30, 2026
It’s been thin gruel so far in terms of benefits for the UK, in exchange for the new Chinese spying embassy in London and continuing commitment to the Chagos giveaway.
January 30, 2026
Labour politicians and left-wing commentators and Remainiacs always see trade and export/imports purely in terms of goods while ignoring services which have become UK’s speciality. By flooding UK universities with their students China are looking to make inroads into that area too.
January 30, 2026
This tells us all we need to know about China.
It also makes a lot more sense the aims that Trump is following.
It will be interesting to see what we gave away to China to obtain the no-visa travel arrangements.
As for balancing the trade deficit with China it’s more likely that she will continue to trample all over us.
January 30, 2026
I agree with you Sir John but this Government are clutching at expensive straws – and I assume the Foreign Office support their view.
January 30, 2026
“The NHS ranks in the bottom third – 141 out of 205 countries – for deaths from “adverse effects of medical treatment”
This leaves the UK trailing other European countries, with per-capita deaths more than twice as high as Switzerland’s, and ranking globally below countries such as Sudan”
as reported by GB News
surely it is time for politicians to say what they really think about the NHS?
January 30, 2026
The China agenda that JR outlines seems rather sensible from China’s point of view. The Two Tier Kier and Reeves agenda seems totally insane for the UK’s interests. Perhaps at least never here Kier will learn something from China and Trump – loads of cheap reliable on demand energy please and ditch Miliband & net zero now!
January 30, 2026
Two Tier Kier stated/lied in a July 2025 to a liaison committee meeting that there is “lots of available housing” asked where? He said he did not know – but would come back in writing – nothing from him so far it seems! Is he short of staff. A short letter saying sorry the PM was just lying from a minion would perhaps be best.
January 30, 2026
If you wish to talk about the Conservatives go onto a Conservative website. I write fortnightly for Conservative Home if you wish to comment on my views on these topics.
January 30, 2026
In China copyright – means the ‘right to copy’
January 30, 2026
The UK Parliament, its Government in it desire to protect us online by ensuring ‘they’ and ‘their’ authorities have access to personal, business and industrial online accounts through a back door, also gave the whole World the same access. They cant stop it, remove security, remove encryption means it is removed for all including those that mean harm.
I would be surprised if the UK Defence Industry, the MOD, the Armed Forces could do or act on anything without China & Russia to name just 2 nefarious actors having full knowledge in tandem. This UK Parliament doesn’t want to protect the people or the Nation, because they fight for ultimate control they live in fear of the people and handing over the nations secrets are to them just a penalty they are comfortable with
January 30, 2026
The Chinese government specialise in intellectual theft. The U.K. government specialise in the destruction of intellectual creativity, or giving it away for a bag of beans to all and sundry. For example,
1. Collossus, designed and created by Tommy Flowers, the world’s first computer. 8 out of 10 destroyed on Churchill’s orders after VE Day but given to the USA.
2. Radar given to the USA.
3. The WWW, created in the U.K. now exclusively exploited n the USA.
4. The jet engine, given to Russia and the world. Taken from its U.K. inventor and handed to Rolls Royce
No doubt others can think of many more. If you are creative in the U.K., the Chinese will steal it or our own government and civil service will do the same and then give it to the world for free with an instruction on the box saying copy , exploit, profit and dominate. The ultimate treason.
January 30, 2026
The PM adores going abroad and giving things away as the recipients heap praise him, shake his hand, pat him on the back and say what a wonderful chap he is which, from his point of view, is abundantly preferable to the opprobrium he faces here on his return.
At least he is showing a human trait of trying to please people – it’s just that it’s wrong people!
January 30, 2026
There are not too many options when it comes to China.
Basically there are two options. We can either ignore China or we can engage with them.
The fundamentals of life in the 21st century demands we engage because China makes the bulk of modern manufactures and has the capacity to roll over every technical activity the West once controlled or specialised in.
What we do not need to do is pay for Kier Starmer to take a delegation into China seeking support for Chinese manufacturing activities here in the UK supported by grand state inducements from the already overburdened tax payers.
The image of a pointless disgraced British PM prostrating himself at the Chinese altar of commerce is pathetic and embarrassing.
Starmer would have his time more effectively spent championing oil and gas extraction here in the UK and reducing the cost of our domestic industries core inputs. He could be championing entrepreneurial activities by removing layer after layer of state licencing and red tape that is holding back our best and most commercially positive ideas.
He could be championing technical education and uplifting training colleges back to their previous respectable centres for technical training.
Sadly to do those things he would have to be based in the UK as opposed to his preferred arrangements, living overseas …..