Sir Keir Starmer visited Beijing and Shanghai last week, making him the UK’s first prime minister to travel to China since Theresa May in 2018. The trip has sparked plenty of commentary that the two nations are aiming to end a ‘diplomatic ice age’ that has developed between them.

Ups and downs in this relationship are nothing new, however. In this episode of HistoryExtra’s series History Behind the Headlines: Briefing, Rana Mitter – ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School – looks back at the historical trajectory of ties between the UK and the China.

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