British Prime Minister Keir Starmer showed his skill with chopsticks while dining at a Beijing restaurant following his arrival in the Chinese capital on Wednesday, according to the restaurant.
Starmer is in China for an official visit from Wednesday to Saturday.
The prime minister and his delegation dined at a restaurant in Beijing's Sanlitun area, known for mushroom-based dishes and other specialties from Yunnan Province in southwest China.
According to the restaurant's chef, all the guests used chopsticks with ease, even though knives and forks were provided for everyone.
He said that the prime minister and the delegation appeared "well prepared" to use chopsticks.
British PM Keir Starmer shows skill with chopsticks at Beijing restaurant
Both Chinese and British companies expect to deepen economic and trade cooperation across sectors, following British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's call for stronger dialogue and deeper engagement between businesses and institutions in the UK and China at the opening ceremony of the UK-China Business Forum in Beijing.
Starmer pointed to what he described as "real progress" during his visit to China from Wednesday to Saturday, citing China's decision to cut tariffs on Scotch whisky. He also urged guests to strengthen exchanges and turn dialogue into practical cooperation.
The forum was co-organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the British government. It brought together more than 300 guests, including over 60 business and cultural delegates across different sectors accompanying the UK Prime Minister. Healthcare and pharmaceuticals were among the key focuses.
According to Wang Xingli, co-president of Fosun Pharma, China-UK cooperation in healthcare is moving beyond market access, toward cooperation across research, clinical development and manufacturing.
"With their science, our productivity, our technology know-how, as well as AI capabilities, I think we can produce big blockbuster drug together," said Wang.
Financial cooperation also featured prominently.
As a long-established global financial center, the UK plays a key role in international banking and capital markets, while China is expanding its cross-border financial services to support trade and investment with the world.
"We've already seen that London has become the biggest hub for RMB clearing offshore from China. The volumes today are tremendous, about 350 billion RMB's worth of trading and clearing that's going on through London," said Tim Skeet, chief institutional relationship officer at the London Branch of the Bank of China.
"All the major Chinese banks are represented in London, and similarly, most of the UK banks have a presence in China. So there's that cooperation between the two centers is very important for the mutuality of interest that we share in terms of the financing of trade, the financing of investment," said Brendan Nelson, group chairman of HSBC.
Chinese, British companies see great potential for cooperation in various sectors
