HONG KONG — There’s a hot new travel spot for American allies.
Unnerved by President Donald Trump, a succession of Western leaders is heading to Beijing and reviving ties with the United States’ chief geopolitical rival.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday was the latest U.S. ally to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the wake of Trump’s attack on Venezuela, his demands for control of Greenland and new tariff threats.
These longtime American partners are resetting years of strained relations with the world’s second-biggest economy as they hedge against Trump’s unpredictability and “America First” agenda.
In particular, countries like Britain and Canada say they are eager to diversify their trade relationships with China and look keen to reduce their dependence on the U.S., which has imposed steep tariffs on friends and foes alike.
Before his meeting with Xi, Starmer said Britain wanted a “more sophisticated” relationship with China. He added that “working together on issues like climate change, global stability during challenging times for the world is precisely what we should be doing.”
The two leaders said their countries should develop a “long‑term, stable and comprehensive strategic partnership.”
“We can deliver a result that can withstand the test of history,” Xi said.
Starmer said later that British nationals would be allowed to visit China for business and tourism visa-free, joining dozens of other countries. The two nations also announced a slew of economic deals.
This may all sound familiar.
Starmer’s four-day visit to China, the first by a British leader since 2018, comes on the heels of a similar trip by Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada. Carney said after meeting with Xi that the two countries were forming a “new strategic partnership,” describing China as a “more predictable” partner.
Carney was the first leader of his country to visit China since 2017, as was South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who met with Xi at the start of the year.
The prime ministers of Ireland and Finland have also visited Beijing this month, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to make a trip in late February.
Starmer’s trip to China is a “positive step for both sides,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, an associate researcher at the Paris-based Asia Centre.
“Everyone is getting more realistic with China in a global environment where there are more and more unpredictable developments because of the U.S.,” he told NBC News.
China, meanwhile, “is happy to see so many visitors because it demonstrates that China is important, that it’s not isolated one way or another, despite its political regime [and] its friction with the U.S.,” said Cabestan, who is based in Hong Kong.
U.S. allies aren’t alone in beating a path to Beijing — Trump himself is planning a trip to China in April.
China is not the only country to benefit from the heightened interest in non-U.S. trade. On Tuesday, India and the 27-nation European Union reached a long-delayed trade agreement that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the “mother of all deals,” covering 2 billion people.
The China trip also spurred Starmer to approve a huge new Chinese Embassy in London that had been debated since 2018 amid national security concerns.
Starmer has prioritized repairing China ties since taking office in 2024, as Britain confronts a deep economic malaise and adjusts to life as a middle power outside the E.U. He has faced public criticism over that approach, especially in light of high-profile allegations of Chinese spying in Britain.
“I made a promise 18 months ago when we were elected into government, that I would make Britain face outward again,” he said Thursday. “Because as we all know, events abroad affect everything that happens back in our home countries, from prices on the supermarket shelves to how secure we feel.”
NBC News reached out to the White House for reaction to the outreach by U.S. allies, and about the impact of Trump’s tariffs.
Experts say that while it’s understandable U.S. allies unnerved by Trump are seeking more leverage, re-engagement with Beijing does not mean a dramatic shift away from Washington.
“Recent engagements are not strategic pivots to China — and Beijing is clear-eyed about this,” said Amanda Hsiao, a director in the Eurasia Group’s China practice.
“Allies will remain embedded in a U.S.-led security architecture, continue to have robust trade relations with Washington, and continue to de-risk from China in sensitive sectors,” she said in an email.
While Britain and other countries were thinking about resetting relations with China even before Trump returned to office, “what the uncertainty brought on by the Trump administration has done is to accelerate that momentum,” said Ja Ian Chong, an assistant professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.
At the same time, “there remain questions about how much they are actually able to achieve” with China, he said.
For example, while China still offers robust business opportunities, its economy has slowed and consumption is sluggish, so “it’s not the sort of windfall that maybe some might be expecting.”
“If there’s any hope for exports, they may have to be adjusted to the reality that is the Chinese economy today,” Chong said.
Like other U.S. allies, Britain also has disputes with China on a range of issues including alleged Chinese spying and cyberattacks, Chinese industrial overcapacity, Russia’s war against Ukraine and China’s human rights record.
For Britain, a particularly sensitive issue is the crackdown on free speech in Hong Kong, a Chinese territory that was a British colony.
Starmer told reporters after his meeting with Xi that they had a “respectful” discussion about Jimmy Lai, a media tycoon and pro-democracy activist who is a British national. Lai, 78, is waiting to be sentenced and could face life in prison after being convicted on national security charges.
China may currently offer more predictability than Trump's dizzying foreign policy, but that isn’t always a good thing, said Chong.
China is consistent, he said, “but that consistency also includes their very excessive claims in the South China Sea, in the East China Sea, over Taiwan,” all of which “are potentially destabilizing.”
Just because China’s position doesn’t change, he said, “that doesn’t mean that it’s helping the international system, especially for middle and smaller powers.”
