The Business Secretary is planning to fly from Washington to China in pursuit of economic growth, proving that Britain’s central mission now has a boarding pass, several time zones and no interest in unpacking.
Peter Kyle told business leaders on Saturday that the Government wanted to help create Britain’s first trillion dollar company. On Sunday, he was due to fly to Washington before continuing to China for trade talks, giving the national mission a useful physical shape. Growth enters through one airport and leaves through another.
The itinerary was presented as international economic engagement. It also looked like a journey arranged by a satnav that had been promised a performance bonus. Somewhere between the two planned stops, the national interest would be expected to change currency, sleep pattern and possibly footwear.
“This is not a journey,” said Cassian, Deputy Envoy for Lounge Synergies. “It is a mobile growth environment with complimentary biscuits.”
The Saturday call with business leaders had already established the Government’s appetite for ambition. The Business Secretary wanted Britain to become the best place in the world to start or scale a company, while the airport prepared to demonstrate that Britain remains an excellent place to start a queue.
Officials insist that face to face diplomacy creates opportunities that video calls cannot. This is true. A video call cannot make a minister spend nine hours wondering whether the person beside him is an adviser, a consultant or simply somebody who also selected the wrong meal.
The Washington stop was intended to build momentum ahead of the forthcoming State Visit. Then the planned journey would continue east, allowing the same economic strategy to be viewed by two superpowers before it had recovered from the hotel Wi Fi.
There was logic in the schedule. Britain needs investment, trade and companies capable of becoming extremely valuable. It also needs ministers who can explain how a country reaches the future without treating an international departure lounge as a permanent policy department.
The Government’s central mission is growth. The journey’s central mission is apparently to keep moving until growth is found, packed into a suitcase and declared at customs. The suitcase will then be invited to lead the next business delegation.
Real story: Sky News, 6 September 2025, with later corroboration from Department for Business and Trade, 7 September 2025.
