The head of a China-based British consultancy firm has highlighted the lasting strength of China-UK relations, particularly in the business sector, rejecting the notion that the two sides had entered an "ice age" in bilateral ties.
William Spiers, chairman of the Spearhead China Group, a business consulting company which helps enterprises enter the Chinese market, gave his assessment of the current state of relations between the two countries as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer embarks on an official visit to China.
Starmer arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin the four-day visit, which marks the first trip by a British prime minister to China in eight years.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Spiers recalled the widely recognized "golden era" of the past, including Chinese President Xi Jinping's 2015 state visit to the UK, when he famously entered a countryside pub and shared a drink with the then British prime minister David Cameron.
"I was here in China in those days, and [the then prime minister] David Cameron made it his focus to encourage relationships between the UK and China. And the good thing was it worked, and everything was very friendly, everyone was very enjoying the way of getting businesses together and making sure it works. And the best thing in those days, of course, when President Xi visited the UK, he and Cameron and a few of the others went to a pub and they enjoyed a pint together. And of course, the first thing in any relationship is friendship. So we must remember that in China, friendship first, build that trust. And in those days, David Cameron did a jolly good job building that trust, and he encouraged the British business people to trade with Chinese people. Even I did a lot of work in those days between the UK and China," he said.
In the years that followed, however, there was a perception that ties had cooled under successive Conservative governments in the UK ever since former prime minister Theresa May's visit to China in 2018.
Despite this, Spiers firmly rejected the characterization that ties had slipped into an "ice age" — a term notably invoked by Starmer prior to his visit — emphasizing that robust people-to-people exchanges continue to sustain the bond between the two nations.
"I don't believe it's an 'ice age' at the moment, I must disagree with Keir Starmer's position on that, because the people of China, the people of England, still have that friendly feeling that they had with David Cameron in the 'golden age'. So no 'ice age', in my opinion, just a little thawing of relationships are needed, because the politicians sometimes get it wrong. They don't understand what the people want," he said.
Starmer held talks with President Xi in the Great Hall of the People on Thursday, during which he said the UK aims to build a more "sophisticated relationship" with China.
During the meeting, both sides expressed willingness to develop a "long-term and stable comprehensive strategic partnership," and agreed to deepen cooperation across various fields.
Starmer is being accompanied on his China trip by a delegation of executives from over 50 major British companies and representatives from institutions across multiple key sectors, with the delegation traveling on to Shanghai on Friday.
UK, China businesses aim to build ties on trust, friendship: British consultant
