SIR Keir Starmer has promised Xi Jinping a more “sophisticated” relationship after years of “twists and turns” in the UK-China alliance.
The pair for landmark talks and agreed to forge closer ties “for the sake of world peace”.
Keir Starmer shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of a bilateral meetingCredit: Reuters
Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing yesterday – the first trip to China by a British PM since 2018Credit: EPA
Xi told the British PM they needed to “rise above their differences” and build an alliance that would “stand the test of history”.
Sir Keir is embarking on the first visit to China by a British PM in eight years and today met his counterpart at the Great Hall of the People.
The trip is hugely controversial given China’s relentless spying and human rights abuses both at home and abroad.
The PM told Xi: “China is a vital player on the global stage and it is vital that we build a more sophisticated relationship.
“It is with the British people in mind that I am here today.”
The Chinese strongman said: “China-UK relations went through some twists and turns that did not serve the interests of our countries.”
In an apparent dig at previous Tory governments, Xi said: “In the past, Labour governments made important contributions to the growth of China-UK relations.”
He added: “China stands ready to develop with the UK a long-term and consistent strategic partnership. It will benefit our two peoples.”
The last British PM to visit Beijing was Theresa May in 2018. Sir Keir has met Xi once before at the G7 summit.
Sir Keir is travelling with a 50-strong business delegation and insists the trip is vital to keep costs down in Britain by forging trade ties.
The PM will later head to Shanghai with Business and Trade Secretary and Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby.
A deal for to sell the firm to a UK company is expected to be discussed, spearheaded by Kyle.
The PM will come under pressure to raise , human rights atrocities and sabre-rattling on .
But he that cutting ties with China would be a “dereliction of duty” as he defended his trip there.
Starmer might get through his visit to China unscathed but back in the UK his political career is on thin ice
BY , Political Editor
IT’S probably for the best that Chinese hackers haven’t yet managed to tap the texts of Sir Keir Starmer’s top team.
Imagine one of Xi’s minions choking on his prawn balls at the sweary messages being swapped this past week, before Googling who on earth this fella was.
Not that is accessible for most citizens here in , of course.
Luckily for the apparatchiks in the Communist Party, I have a pretty good idea of what’s being said behind closed doors in of late.
As one senior ally of the PM puts it to me: “Andy is a selfish prat who’s just in it for himself.
“Let’s not forget this is the guy who lost two leadership elections, including to Corbyn.
“And spare me all this ‘King of the North’ stuff.”
Starmer himself was rather more diplomatic about the Manchester Mayor on the plane to on Tuesday night, saying he is doing an “excellent job”.
His jaw tightened as he trotted out the pre-rehearsed line with all the conviction of a hostage swearing allegiance to his captors at gunpoint.
But it did the trick in containing a row that only a few days ago had threatened to blow up into a horrific bout of leadership blood-letting.
It still might — and if Labour loses the Gorton and Denton by-election, then his fortunes could rapidly death-spiral.
Yet for now the mutiny is on hold. Burnham is stewing. is loath to plunge a dagger. is still too tied up in her tax drama.
Westminster is a pressure cooker waiting to explode at any moment, but for the next few days it will fade into the background as Starmer visits China.
Britain has long been at sea in its handling of relations with Beijing’s authoritarian regime, yo-yoing between David Cameron’s love-bombing and more recent arm’s-length treatment.
Whether we have been sweet or sour in our embrace of China, some things have remained fundamental.
They spy on us relentlessly, they commit appalling violations, but they give us cheap goods and are a growing economic and military power.
Starmer is right about one thing — China is too big to ignore and must be engaged.
The PM certainly looked relaxed as he dressed down in an open black shirt for his flight to Beijing with 50 leaders in tow.
It was a moment months in the making, with officials the length and breadth of Whitehall mobilised to organise this important trip.
The PM personally has been involved in meetings this past week to put the finishing touches on the choreography and details of a flurry of business deals expected out of Beijing.
This is the point he wants to ham up from his gazillionth jaunt abroad: Trade with China to keep prices down at home.
He now tries to sell everything through the prism of tackling the , having identified it as his last hope to claw back popularity.
And I’m sure he will get along with Xi just fine, navigating the supreme leader in Beijing with the same careful tiptoeing he navigates the supreme leader in the .
Starmer will even gift the Chinese premier — supposedly a massive fan — the match ball from the side’s 3-2 victory over his own beloved last weekend.
He’s had some practice handling strongmen and their egos, and so far the only potential diplomatic misstep was when the vegetarian PM told me he didn’t like tofu — a key Chinese export.
But if it is a warmer relationship with Beijing that he wants, he should not be surprised when the criticism intensifies at home the next time they commit an act of hostility against us.
If he doesn’t manage to tame the Chinese Dragon — and there’s no reason to think that he will — then people will ask: what was the point of all the niceties?
Starmer is already vulnerable to “kow-tow” allegations after green-lighting Beijing’s new London super-embassy.
And there is a sense that he is now just so unpopular that anything even slightly controversial — and China is definitely controversial — will automatically be held against him.
His supporters point to his actions on the world stage as one his main strengths since coming to office, highlighting especially his work on .
Critics blast him as “Never Here Keir” who bends the knee to strongmen like in an unedifying display to secure only marginally more favourable trade terms.
In truth Starmer has proven able at walking a line between the two, and is likely to replicate that cautious conviviality with China.
Call it sucking up. Call it strategic schmoozing. Call it statesmanship.
Whatever it is, the PM gets by on the world stage relatively unscathed.
The issue has never been his position as a world leader.
It has been his shortcomings in Westminster, where his political career is on thin ice.
Back in Britain the next few months are fraught with flashpoints that will really be make or break for Starmer.
High in the skies above China, the familiar voice of the PM came over the airplane Tannoy as we began our descent into Beijing.
“Sit back, relax. I’ll be bringing the plane in from here,” he joked.
But the plane is currently heading for the mountain — and some of the crew are now thinking about storming the cockpit.
Mr Xi told Sir Keir the two men would “stand the test of history” if they could “rise above differences”.
He added: “Your visit this time has drawn a lot of attention. Sometimes good things take time.
“As long as it is the right thing that serves the fundamental interests of the country and the people, then as leaders we should not shy away from difficulties and we should press ahead with fortitude.”
One agreement expected to be signed on Thursday will provide for joint UK-Chinese law enforcement operations.
They will be aimed at preventing gangs smuggling people across the Channel by disrupting the supply of small boat engines.
Some 60% of the engines powering the small boats crossing the Channel have been found to be Chinese-manufactured.
Keir Starmer has promised Xi Jinping a more ‘sophisticated’ relationshipCredit: AFP
The PM will come under pressure to raise China’s spyingCredit: Reuters
And the boats themselves are often made using Chinese parts.
The deal is expected to cover intelligence sharing on smugglers’ supply routes and direct engagement with Chinese manufacturers to discourage them from supplying the gangs.
Before the meeting with China’s leader, Sir Keir was welcomed by National People’s Congress chairman Zhao Leji at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
Mr Zhao said it was “significant” to develop the UK-China relationship amid the “changing and turbulent international landscape”.
He also praised Sir Keir’s efforts to reach a rapprochement with China.
The chairman said relations were on “the correct track to improvement and development” and “positive progress has been made”.
Starmer’s trip comes as he is accused of kowtowing to Beijing to avoid upsetting .
The over spying allegations when he comes face-to-face with the leader.
In September, a accused of spying for collapsed.
then approved to build a last week.
The decision came amid new claims of -linked .
Tory leader said she would not be going to China, as Sir Keir Starmer has done, if she was the prime minister.
Starmer’s trip comes as he is accused of kowtowing to Beijing to avoid upsetting President XiCredit: Getty
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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