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Prime minister says Reform seeking to ‘tear people apart’ after Gorton and Denton candidate questions whether all UK-born people are British
Keir Starmer has accused the Reform UK candidate in the Greater Manchester byelection of pursuing the politics of “toxic division” after he his claim that UK-born people from minority ethnic backgrounds are not necessarily British.
The prime minister suggested that Matthew Goodwin, a hard-right activist, would try to “tear people apart” in Gorton and Denton, and that voters wanting to stop Nigel Farage’s party should coalesce around the Labour candidate.

Whether at home or abroad, the pattern of ducking difficult arguments and calling it pragmatism is the same
There comes a point in a prime minister’s career when foreign travel offers respite from domestic trouble. Even when relations with the host country are tricky, as Britain’s are with China, the dignifying protocols of statecraft make a beleaguered politician feel valued.
Next comes the phase where missions overseas feel dangerous because plotters can organise more openly against absent leaders.
Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.
This week, from 2022: For years Tsang Tsou-choi daubed his eccentric demands around Hong Kong, and the authorities raced to cover them up. But as the city’s protest movements bloomed, his words mysteriously reappeared
Written and read by Louisa Lim

Xiao Qian hits out at Labor’s policy to force the Chinese-owned company Landbridge to sell its 99-year lease on the port

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China’s ambassador to Australia says plans by the Albanese government to remove from Chinese ownership will put at risk future trade growth and force an intervention by Beijing.
Ambassador Xiao Qian hit out at Labor’s policy to force the Chinese-owned company Landbridge to sell its 99-year lease on the port, sparked by pre-election national security concerns from both Labor and the Coalition.

Toy becomes a popular symbol of workplace fatigue after manufacturing error gave it a frown instead of a smile
On 17 February China will celebrate the start of the year of the horse, the zodiac sign symbolising high energy and hard work. But the runaway success of a defective stuffed toy suggests that many Chinese are not feeling the vibe.
A red horse toy produced by Happy Sister in the city of Yiwu in the west of China was meant to wear a broad grin, but a factory error meant it hit the shops sporting a despairing grimace. Because the smile was placed upside down, the horse’s nostrils could be interpreted as tears.

Maduro’s Sorbonne-educated successor is talking up an era of ‘reform and opening up’ modelled on China’s post-Mao boom
After years of political and social upheaval, hunger and despair, the Great Helmsman departs and is replaced by a francophile economic reformer who catapults a traumatised country into a new era of prosperity and growth.
That is what happened in China half a century ago when Deng Xiaoping became paramount leader after Chairman Mao Zedong’s 1976 death and set in motion one of history’s biggest economic booms.

Planet closer to destruction as Russia, China and US become more aggressive and nationalistic, says advocacy group
Earth is closer than it has ever been to destruction as Russia, China, the US and other countries become “increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic”, a science-oriented advocacy group said on Tuesday as it advanced its Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds until midnight.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist members had an initial demonstration on Friday and then announced their results on Tuesday.

Vow to bring ‘stability and clarity’ to the UK’s approach to Beijing on first visit by a British prime minister in eight years will be sorely tested
Keir Starmer has travelled to China with a vow to bring “stability and clarity” to the UK’s approach to Beijing after years of what he described as “inconsistency” under the Tories, but a series of issues may get in the way of his efforts to improve relations with the economic powerhouse.

PM promises ‘stability and clarity’ in approach on first visit to Beijing by UK leader in eight years

Keir Starmer has said the UK government will remain “clear-eyed and realistic” on the national security threat posed by China as he travelled to Beijing in an effort to improve relations with the economic powerhouse.
The prime minister promised “stability and clarity” in his approach to Beijing after years of what he described as “inconsistency” under the Tories, as western powers in their search for economic stability amid concerns the US may no longer be a reliable partner.

Experts say business with China is always a double-edged sword let alone when its overheated economy can offer only marginal gains

Keir Starmer’s trip to China is billed as an attempt to revitalise diplomatic relations but eight years after Theresa May paved the way for a never-materialised “ambitious” post-Brexit deal, the prospect of the prime minister landing any meaningful trade deal is slim, experts have warned.
The visit to Beijing, involving a delegation of British companies led by Starmer, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the business secretary, Peter Kyle, is the first since May’s 2018 visit, and will revolve around joint trade and investment efforts.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hopes to boost his country’s lagging economy with a trip to Beijing. But he must carefully navigate between two superpowers.

Hundreds at zoo in Tokyo say farewell to Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, as China ends ‘panda diplomacy’ with Japan
Hundreds of people have gathered to say farewell to two popular pandas departing Tokyo for China, leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears for the first time in 50 years, as ties between the Asian neighbours fray.
Panda twins Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao were transported by truck out of Ueno zoological gardens, their birthplace, disappointing many Japanese fans who have grown attached to the furry four-year-olds.