Too often, diplomacy is more about symbol than substance. This is especially true in the case of China.

In this sense, the important thing about British Prime Minister Starmer’s visit to China at the end of January is that it actually happened. There have been numerous tensions between the two countries in recent years: two British citizens were accused of spying for China, approval of a new Chinese embassy in London was delayed, and democracy activist Jimmy Lai was put on trial.

The fact that Starmer is visiting Beijing – the first by a British prime minister in eight years – shows that the arguments in favor of a visit outweigh its negative consequences. What undoubtedly tips the balance is the U.S. government’s now intensified attacks on its traditional allies.

The visit did not reset relations, but it revealed that the world has entered a new era of global power dynamics, which are already being reflected in diplomacy.

On January 23, just a week before visiting China, Starmer made a rare expression of public anger and condemned the actions of US President Donald Trump. Comment About British troops in Afghanistan.

This makes this trip to Beijing very different from previous visits by British Prime Ministers. There has never been an alliance between Britain and the United States in the past.

The United States and Britain have been close allies for decades. Since 2001, they have closely coordinated operations in the war in the Middle East and in the fight against global terrorism and other threats. They share intelligence through the Five Eyes alliance and work together as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

On China, the moment of disagreement was brief. In 2004, the UK and its European partners tried Lift an arms embargo they and the United States imposed on China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre on the grounds that all the equipment they ban is strictly restricted by other legislation. There was strong opposition from the Bush administration at the time, and the idea was eventually abandoned.

More than a decade later, during Trump’s first administration, Europe appears likely to seek its own trade deal with China to compensate for the steel and other tariffs the U.S. imposed on it. But by 2018, the situation had eased as the EU struck a deal with Washington. Part of that is not getting closer to China on trade.

The pandemic has prompted the United States and Europe to further unite against China, which they believe was partly responsible for the problem by not announcing the virus’s emergence in time. So by 2023, the UK and US were almost jockeying for a tougher stance, with then-Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden declare The People’s Republic of China is the UK’s greatest “national threat”.

We are no longer in that world. Washington’s actions raise fundamental questions about the alliance system surrounding NATO and other security arrangements that have been at the core since the end of World War II.

We don’t yet know what the world we’re about to enter looks like. It can take years to fully manifest. But for Starmer, who is visiting Beijing, the shift means he is speaking to an interlocutor who is also trying to figure out what the new situation means.

President Xi Jinping is not a security ally of the UK, but in this strange, chaotic world we now live in, his government may be closer to Britain on how to deal with global warming or how to manage the risks of artificial intelligence.

Neither country likes the unpredictability of the current situation. They are all connected by the problems they have with America right now, even if they are different types of problems.

Of course, this does not mean that a new strategic alliance is forming; There was no indication of this at the meeting. After all, Britain and China have too many differences with each other in terms of culture, politics and values ​​for this to happen. This has nothing to do with Britain’s ties to the United States.

But Starmer’s ability to announce restrictions on small engines used to illegally transport migrants across the sea around the UK is a clear sign that even in a deglobalized world, everything remains interconnected, and that the UK needs to talk to China in a gentle and indirect way to address some aspects of what it sees as its own security priorities.

There were other announcements: a $15 billion investment in British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, a 30-day visa exemption for British citizens entering China and the lifting of sanctions on some members of the British Parliament.

It also laid the foundation for deeper economic development. got engageda number of measures are being taken to improve trade and facilitate British businesses’ access to the Chinese market.

In the longer term, the visit could also pave the way for engagement that recognizes China’s rise as a technological power. In environmental science, artificial intelligence, quantum computing – in fact, in almost every field – China has surpassed not just the UK but almost every other country. It generates ideas and innovation in areas such as medicine and renewable energy, which is vital to the UK’s own interests.

A four-day visit did little to reset relations. There are still many problems between the two countries. But at least it offers the possibility – now that the political hurdles have been cleared – to address strategically how Britain and the rest of Europe navigate a new geopolitics with no permanent friends or enemies, and how they respond to a world in which China, for the first time in recent history, has the innovations, technologies and ideas they may need and want.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.