Donald Trump has warned closer ties between the UK and China would be "very dangerous", as Sir Keir Starmer continues his Beijing visit.
Starmer met with Chinese president Xi Jinping during the three-day trip aimed at increasing business and investment between the nations.
But the US president sounded alarm bells about the move, telling reporters: "Well it's very dangerous for them to do that."
Responding to Trump's comment, the BBC reports, Downing Street highlighted that the White House had been aware of the goals of the visit in advance, and that Trump himself is sheduled to visit China in April.
Following his meeting with Xi on Thursday, Starmer said the UK's relationship with China was in a "good, strong place".
He added that the Chinese president had provided "just the level of engagement that we hoped for".
He told delegates at the UK-China Business Forum: "We warmly engaged and made some real progress, actually, because the UK has got a huge amount to offer."