At a Foreign Ministry press briefing on 27 January, spokesperson Guo Jiakun confirmed that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will pay an official visit to China from 28–31 January—the first trip by a British leader in eight years. Starmer is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing and hold talks with Premier Li Qiang before travelling to Shanghai, China’s financial capital.
Although the agenda centres on geopolitics and trade, mobility specialists are watching closely for announcements that could ease corporate travel between the two countries. The UK is not yet part of China’s 45-country unilateral visa-waiver list, but officials and industry groups have floated ideas ranging from 15-day visa-on-arrival trials for executive card-holders to mutual recognition of Trusted Traveller programmes. Direct flight capacity is also under review; slot filings show British Airways has applied to restore double-daily Heathrow–Shanghai services for the northern-summer season, pending regulatory clearance.
![High-level UK visit raises hopes for streamlined China-UK business mobility]()
For organisations needing up-to-date guidance on Chinese entry permits, specialist providers like VisaHQ can assemble application packets, schedule biometric appointments and track processing in multiple jurisdictions; their China desk (https://www.visahq.com/china/) posts real-time alerts that could prove invaluable if any pilot visa waivers or expedited channels emerge during the visit.
For UK-based multinationals, a thaw could shorten visa lead-times that currently run three to five weeks for multiple-entry M visas and require biometric enrolment at Chinese visa centres. Conversely, any Chinese concessions may spur London to expand its Business Visitor and Innovator Founder routes for Chinese entrepreneurs, especially if ongoing talks on mutual taxation relief progress.
Guo Jiakun framed the visit as an opportunity to “deepen practical co-operation” and set a “new chapter” for bilateral ties. Mobility managers should brief senior executives travelling with the PM’s business delegation on China’s health-code and address-registration rules, which remain mandatory despite broader visa liberalisation. They should also monitor the embassy’s WeChat channel for any same-day policy pilots unveiled during the Shanghai leg, where Starmer is expected to meet fintech and auto-sector CEOs.
Although the agenda centres on geopolitics and trade, mobility specialists are watching closely for announcements that could ease corporate travel between the two countries. The UK is not yet part of China’s 45-country unilateral visa-waiver list, but officials and industry groups have floated ideas ranging from 15-day visa-on-arrival trials for executive card-holders to mutual recognition of Trusted Traveller programmes. Direct flight capacity is also under review; slot filings show British Airways has applied to restore double-daily Heathrow–Shanghai services for the northern-summer season, pending regulatory clearance.
For organisations needing up-to-date guidance on Chinese entry permits, specialist providers like VisaHQ can assemble application packets, schedule biometric appointments and track processing in multiple jurisdictions; their China desk (https://www.visahq.com/china/) posts real-time alerts that could prove invaluable if any pilot visa waivers or expedited channels emerge during the visit.
For UK-based multinationals, a thaw could shorten visa lead-times that currently run three to five weeks for multiple-entry M visas and require biometric enrolment at Chinese visa centres. Conversely, any Chinese concessions may spur London to expand its Business Visitor and Innovator Founder routes for Chinese entrepreneurs, especially if ongoing talks on mutual taxation relief progress.
Guo Jiakun framed the visit as an opportunity to “deepen practical co-operation” and set a “new chapter” for bilateral ties. Mobility managers should brief senior executives travelling with the PM’s business delegation on China’s health-code and address-registration rules, which remain mandatory despite broader visa liberalisation. They should also monitor the embassy’s WeChat channel for any same-day policy pilots unveiled during the Shanghai leg, where Starmer is expected to meet fintech and auto-sector CEOs.
