China has decided to lower the tariff on UK whisky from 10% to 5% and implement a 30-day visa-free policy for UK nationals.

According to the BBC, the UK prime minister's office said on the 29th (local time) that China would cut the tariff rate on UK whisky from 10% to 5%.

The prime minister's office said the agreement was reached on the occasion of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to China, and projected that the move would bring whisky exporters an economic benefit of 250 million pounds (about 495 billion won) over the next five years. China is the 10th-largest import market for UK whisky.

According to the prime minister's office, China and the UK agreed to cooperate to disrupt the supply chains of small-boat engines and equipment used by smuggling gangs to cross the English Channel. It is said that last year, 60% of the small-boat engines used by smuggling organizations to enter the UK were made in China.

China decided to apply a 30-day visa-free policy for UK nationals. In 2024, Chinese visitors to the UK numbered 620,000.

China's state-run Global Times reported that UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca pledged to invest $15 billion (about 21.6 trillion won) in China by 2030.

Prime Minister Starmer said, "The reason we cooperate with China is to seize opportunities where we agree and to have mature discussions on issues where we do not," adding that measures such as visa-free entry will "make it even easier for businesses to expand overseas and contribute to domestic economic growth and job creation."

On the 16th, after a summit between President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, China scrapped the 100% high tariffs imposed on Chinese electric vehicles and Canadian canola seeds. According to Bloomberg, after the bilateral agreement, Chinese importers actually purchased large volumes of Canadian canola. Canada and the UK also appear to be strengthening cooperation with China, envisioning free-trade cooperation without the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed displeasure, saying "Very dangerous." According to Reuters, when asked at a screening of his wife Melania's documentary that day about his view on China-UK cooperation, President Trump said, "It is very dangerous for the UK to do that, but it is even more dangerous for Canada to do business with China."