James Cleverly visits Beijing as MPs criticise China strategy

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is visiting Beijing amid disapproval from immoderate MPs implicit the government's attack to China.

Mr Cleverly, the archetypal elder UK curate to question to China since 2018, said the country's planetary value meant it could not beryllium ignored.

But MPs connected the Foreign Affairs Committee said the government's strategy connected China was incoherent.

And elder Conservative Sir Iain Duncan Smith compared it to "appeasement".

During his sojourn Mr Cleverly volition clasp talks with China's overseas affairs curate Wang Yi and vice-president Han Zheng.

He has promised to rise concerns implicit quality rights issues, including successful Xinjiang and Tibet, arsenic good arsenic the attraction of Hong Kong and sanctions placed connected UK MPs.

The warfare successful Ukraine and cyber information are besides connected the agenda.

Ahead of the visit, Mr Cleverly said: "No important planetary occupation - from clime alteration to pandemic prevention, from economical instability to atomic proliferation - tin beryllium solved without China.

"China's size, past and planetary value means they cannot beryllium ignored, but that comes with a work connected the planetary stage.

"That work means China fulfilling its planetary commitments and obligations."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said "international and determination issues of communal concern" would beryllium discussed.

He added: "We anticipation the British broadside volition enactment with america to uphold the tone of communal respect, deepen exchanges, heighten communal knowing and beforehand the unchangeable improvement of Sino-British relations."

The sojourn comes arsenic the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee criticises the government's attack to China successful a caller study connected UK argumentation successful the Indo-Pacific.

The study describes the activities of the Chinese Communist Party arsenic "a menace to the UK and its interests".

It raises concerns astir a deficiency of coherence successful the government's attack and calls for an unclassified mentation of its China strategy to beryllium published to supply guidance to the nationalist and backstage sectors.

The committee besides argues that each applicable ministers should beryllium briefed connected the higher classification mentation of the strategy.

The cross-party radical of MPs besides condemn attacks connected Hong Kong dissidents successful the UK arsenic "a sustained attempt" by China to intimidate its critics and calls connected the UK to archer the Chinese authorities that specified a argumentation is unacceptable.

The committee's Conservative chairwoman, Alicia Kearns, said it had argued for "the request to equilibrium economical practice with caution successful the UK's dealings with China".

"The confidential, elusive China strategy is buried heavy successful Whitehall, kept hidden adjacent from elder ministers crossed government," she said.

"How tin those implementing argumentation - and making laws - bash truthful without an knowing of the wide strategy?"

Asked connected Tuesday if Mr Cleverly should beryllium visiting Beijing, she told the BBC: "It is much important that we are successful the country with them successful stark disagreement, alternatively than cutting disconnected relations."

However, erstwhile Conservative enactment person and curate Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who is 1 of 5 MPs sanctioned by China, said the sojourn was the latest signifier of "Project Kowtow".

He told the PA quality bureau the UK presumption "smells terribly of appeasement".

"It's similar we privation much business, truthful we don't privation to upset the Chinese excessively much," helium said.

"What we extremity up with is that they deliberation we are conscionable excessively weak."

Labour's shadiness overseas caput David Lammy accused the Conservative authorities of much than a decennary of "division, inconsistency and complacency towards China".

He said the authorities needed to unafraid "tangible diplomatic wins" including an extremity to Chinese sanctions connected British Parliamentarians.

Relations betwixt the UK and China person been strained successful caller years implicit issues including a crackdown connected quality rights successful Hong Kong.

Mr Sunak's predecessor Liz Truss was reportedly readying to re-categorise China arsenic a "threat" to the UK arsenic portion of a overseas argumentation review.

However, the premier curate has resisted calls from immoderate Tories to spell that far.