Laura Bicker

So in terms of what's been agreed so far, how big are those deals in the grand scheme of things? I asked our China correspondent Laura Bicker, who's in Beijing. There was an expectation that there would be something bigger. Now the visit isn't over yet, there's still more to come. And it is a significant investment by AstraZeneca. And of course this visa-free travel is something that other European countries have had. More than 70 countries in fact around the world have had.

Britain was an outlier, mainly because China offers these visas after a world leader arrives on their doorstep. It's almost like, look, come here and then we'll give you the visas. I think it's kind of on the periphery. I think there are bigger issues at play, but it does seem that at least negotiations are starting. If you speak to those who do business here in China, they believe that this smooths the wheels, so to speak.

Does China really listen to what the UK is saying? I think they'll sit there. I think they will make noises. But I think when it comes to issues on human rights, when it comes to security concerns, China really pushes back. It turns around and says to their counterparts, stop interfering in internal affairs. And I think they expect it to come up. They know that when Western governments face their counterparts here in Beijing...

That that's something they've been told to raise, they know that it's coming and they have their responses prepared. Is it going to change things? Very much doubt it. And I think actually one of the things that I've heard many Chinese commentators push back on, I heard from a few yesterday saying on various foreign media, hang on, you're accusing China of human rights abuses, but look at the United States. Now one has got absolutely nothing to do with the other.

China is feeling confident. They're watching this parade of world leaders arrive on their doorstep. From France, from Germany next month, from Canada, from South Korea, from Finland and now the UK. These are traditional US allies now finding a way to overcome their differences with Beijing. And I think what China is trying to do is use its status as the world's factory with its manufacturing prowess.

to kind of galvanize power and influence on the world stage. So that is how it's kind of portraying it, not just to the leaders arriving, but also to its domestic audience. I've just been watching the flagship bulletin here in China.

They spent 18 minutes of their 30-minute bulletin on Sir Keir Starmer's visit. That's extraordinary. So it's not just being sold to the world as China's doing deals while Donald Trump threatens tariffs. It's also being shown to its own population that China is having a new prestige in the world. Laura Booker. Meanwhile, China says it's executed 11 people linked to online scam operations in Myanmar.

What inspired you to try and track down everybody in the old school photograph in the first place?

What inspired you to try and track down everybody in the old school photograph in the first place?

What inspired you to try and track down everybody in the old school photograph in the first place?

You're a braver man than I am, Alistair, because you wanted to cheer your dad up. It could have gone really badly wrong. He could have been the last man standing.

You're a braver man than I am, Alistair, because you wanted to cheer your dad up. It could have gone really badly wrong. He could have been the last man standing.

You're a braver man than I am, Alistair, because you wanted to cheer your dad up. It could have gone really badly wrong. He could have been the last man standing.

He sounds really fit and strong, and so does Betty.

He sounds really fit and strong, and so does Betty.

He sounds really fit and strong, and so does Betty.

Are they keeping in touch? Are they going to stay in touch?

Are they keeping in touch? Are they going to stay in touch?

Are they keeping in touch? Are they going to stay in touch?

Head in hands, eight-year-old Timmy mutters to himself as he tries to beat a robot powered by artificial intelligence at a game of chess. This is not an AI showroom or an AI lab. This is a middle-class living room in Beijing. It's like a little teacher or a little friend, he says, as the mechanical arm moves another chess piece.