‘Absolutely bonkers’: Labour minister hits back at Trump’s criticism of China trade
A Labour minister has hit back at comments from President Donald Trump that trading with China was “very dangerous” for the UK.
Sir Chris Bryant, who has served as trade minister since September 2025, said it would be “absolutely bonkers” for the UK not to do business with China.
“You have to challenge China on the issues where we disagree with them and but you have to face the fact that China is a major power in the world,” Bryant told Sky News on Friday morning.
He pointed to China having the world’s second largest economy and the fourth largest export market.
“It would be absolutely bonkers to the UK not to engage with China,” he said.
It follows President Trump sending a firm warning to Starmer as he headed for his three-day trip to Beijing in a bid to reset China and UK trade relations.
“It’s very dangerous for them to do that,” Trump said when questioned on the move at the premiere of a documentary about his wife Melania. But Bryant hit directly back stating Trump was “wrong”.
“I say this precisely because, apart from anything else, he himself said in his own statement that he is a friend with President Xi, and as I understand it, President Trump is going to China himself in April,” he added.
City in unease over new China super embassy
Starmer has been accompanied by a delegation of 60 British businesses and cultural organisations.
The Prime Minister has said businesses are “crying out for ways” to export to Chinese markets after he struck a new deal for British travellers.
He announced a string of deals with China, including getting Britons visa-free travel to China when visiting for fewer than 30 days.
But the visit has come with deep contention following criticism across political benches in the Commons over threats to national security.
Chinese officials are believed to have hacked the phones of key government officials, according to The Telegraph.
Hackers targeted top aides to UK prime ministers including Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, intelligence sources told the newspaper, as part of the state-sponsored operation known as Salt Typhoon.
The Labour government have also received criticism for giving the green light to a Chinese ‘super embassy’ in Canada, which has amplified security fears.
Former No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings said that Chinese hackers had gained access to sensitive files while security experts warned that the approval of a new Chinese embassy on the historic Royal Mint Court site would pose risks to cables connecting Canada to Canary Wharf.