Keir Starmer risks an early rift with Donald Trump after PM calls for ‘respectful’ UK-China relations as he becomes first PM to meet Xi Jinping since 2018 at G20 summit_Nhy
China’s communist president yesterday praised Labour’s plans for the economy as Sir Keir Starmer pushed for a new ‘respectful’ relationship with Beijing.
In an extraordinary thawing of relations, Xi Jinping borrowed Labour’s favourite slogan to praise Sir Keir for working to ‘fix the foundations’ of the economy.
President Xi welcomed the Prime Minister’s bid to soften Britain’s stance, saying there was now a chance to ‘break new ground in UK-China relations’.
His intervention came as Sir Keir brushed aside complaints he is ‘kowtowing’ to the communist superpower by becoming the first British PM to meet President Xi in more than six years.
The two men met amid tight security on the fringes of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Signalling a major reset, the PM immediately suggested a further summit in Beijing or London to discuss rebuilding a relationship shattered by China’s crackdown in Hong Kong and vicious human rights abuses against the Uygher people in Xinxiang.
He said Chancellor Rachel Reeves would hold talks with China’s vice-president next year in a bid to boost trade.
And he opened the door to a new wave of Chinese investment, which went into reverse under the last government because of fears about China’s hostile intentions towards the UK.
Sir Keir Starmer pushed for a new ‘respectful’ relationship with China during a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping at the G20 summit
Welcoming the Prime Minister’s stance, President Xi said it was an opportunity to ‘break new ground in UK-China relations’
However, there were tensions over human rights, with Western journalists bundled out of the room by Chinese security staff when Sir Keir raised the case of jailed British Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai.
Speaking as the two men met in Rio, the PM said: ‘We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, and as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible.
‘A strong UK-China relationship is important for both of our countries and for the broader international community.’
Sir Keir said Britain would be a ‘predictable, consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law’.
He raised human rights and asked president Xi to lift sanctions on seven British parliamentarians.
But he has faced criticism at home for costing up to China’s communist leader, whose regime was deemed hostile to Britain by the last government.
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel branded China ‘malign’ state, and urged the PM not to soften the UK’s stance on issues like human rights.
‘Britain’s standing on the world stage risks being weakened if the Prime Minister does not robustly defend our national interest,’ she said.
Sir Keir was the first British PM to meet Xi in more than six years, when the Chinese president met Theresa May
Tory grandee Sir Iain Duncan Smith said that Britain looked ‘weak’ following the PM’s talks with Xi Jinping
‘In this uncertain world, we need leaders who are clear about defending this country’s national interest, and who are not afraid to stand up against China’s malign influence with confidence and authority. Starmer must set out, as part of his supposed reset, what assurances he received from president Xi on the UK’s areas of concern.’
The PM also risks an early rift with Donald Trump who has signalled a much tougher stance on China, including in trade where he has proposed 60 per cent tariffs on all imports.
Sir Ian Duncan Smith, who is among those sanctioned by China, told the Mail: ‘I don’t know what the hell Starmer thinks he looked like at that meeting.
‘They bundled the journalists out as soon as they talked about human rights and Jimmy Lai.
‘So what does Starmer do? Does he say ‘I think the journalists should stay in?’. No, he carries on.
‘We look so weak, don’t we? Am I alone at looking at this and thinking, “Whatever happened to this country?”.’
Sir Iain added: ‘They are so desperate for growth, this government, that they will do anything to get it, because they are in real trouble at the moment and the prospects are no growth…
‘We’ll never do a trade deal with America if he goes down this road – this basically shuts off any trade deal with America’.
The PM also risks an early rift with Donald Trump who has signalled a much tougher stance on China, particularly on trade
A group of MPs and their allies across the world are today calling for Hong Kong businessman and British national Jimmy Lai to be released unconditionally and immediately from prison as his trial recommences.
Pro-democracy supporter Mr Lai was jailed in late 2020 in Hong Kong, and is currently being held in solitary confinement after being accused of violating the territory’s new national security law.
Mr Lai, who founded the now defunct Apple Daily newspaper, has pleaded not guilty to charges of collusion with foreign forces and sedition, and faces life behind bars if convicted.
As the 76-year-old’s trial is set to recommence in Hong Kong, 105 politicians from 24 countries – including 23 MPs and seven peers – have joined forces to call for the court proceedings to cease and for Mr Lai’s immediate release.
A joint statement co-ordinated by Alicia Kearns, a shadow Foreign Office minister, warns Mr Lai’s health is ‘deteriorating’ and describes his trial as being ‘tainted with unfairness’.
