The Canadian PM had called for middle powers to work together to “build something bigger, better, stronger, more just.”
Starmer was pressed on those remarks on board his flight to China Tuesday. Asked whether he agreed that the old global order is dead — and whether smaller powers need to team up to push back at the U.S. and China, Starmer defended his own policy of trying to build bridges with Trump, Xi and the European Union all at once.
“I’m a pragmatist, a British pragmatist applying common sense, and therefore I’m pleased that we have a good relationship with the U.S. on defense, security, intelligence and on trade and prosperity,” he says. “It’s very important that we maintain that good relationship.”
He added: “Equally, we are moving forward with a better relationship with the EU. We had a very good summit last year with 10 strands of agreement.
“We’ll have another summit this year with the EU, which I hope will be iterative, as well as following through on what we’ve already agreed.
“And I’ve consistently said I’m not choosing between the U.S. and Europe. I’m really glad that the UK has got good relations with both.”