British Labour Party, opposition leader Starmer explains why world should wean itself off China

He said this in an interview with Politico.

The Labour leader said that the UK government must be clear about security issues and problems such as espionage, interference and human rights violations by Beijing.

"How do we wean ourselves off Chinese influence across the world? There are big questions that progressive governments could face together. However, he acknowledged that it was impossible to “distance ourselves” completely from China on big-ticket issues like climate change," he said. 

Starmer also said at a conference of like-minded center-left leaders in Montreal that leaders of progressive countries are concerned and should be "acutely aware" of the possibility of Donald Trump winning the US election, and should seek a conciliatory approach to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who is waging war in Ukraine. He urged the leaders to stick together in such difficult circumstances.

Starmer's team is in talks with US President Joe Biden's administration, but the Labor leader himself said he had not been invited to meet with Biden. Starmer did not rule out the prospect of Trump winning the US presidential election next year, but said he did not want that to happen. He added that among the former US presidents, he personally has the most contact with Barack Obama.

Starmer's priority, if he becomes British Prime Minister, will be to restore the United Kingdom and its reputation on the world stage.

Starmer's rise to prominence in the international arena is a consequence of Labor's shift to become a bridge between the US and the EU, The Guardian writes.

“I feel very strongly that since Brexit, there's been a sense that we've not just exited the EU, that we've somehow turned our back on the world and wherever you go people feel almost the absence of the UK, once a leading voice, now rarely consulted,” he said. 

In Montreal, Starmer called on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to stand up to the Conservatives who are seeking to withdraw the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights.

"Their drumbeat of threats to withdraw from the ECHR is nothing more than a desperate attempt by the government to provoke a split to stay in power, with negative consequences for Britain's security and prosperity," he said.

On September 19, in Paris, the leader of the Labor Party will hold talks with Emmanuel Macron to address the problem of small ships crossing the English Channel.

Last week, during a visit to Europol in The Hague, Starmer suggested a deal with Brussels that would include a quota for asylum seekers arriving in the EU in exchange for the possibility of returning people crossing the English Channel.

• British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed concern to Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang about the country's interference in the work of the British Parliament after two men were arrested in Britain and accused of spying for Beijing.