New British leader to meet Xi Jinping as he strikes conciliatory tone on China

BALI, Indonesia — Rishi Sunak volition invitation Xi Jinping to collaborate much intimately connected planetary challenges successful the archetypal gathering betwixt a British premier curate and Chinese president successful astir 5 years.

Sunak and Xi volition clasp a bilateral gathering Wednesday connected the margins of the G20 leaders’ acme successful Bali.

Ahead of the gathering — confirmed lone 24 hours earlier it was owed to instrumentality spot — Downing Street insisted it was “clear-eyed successful however we attack our narration with China.”

The premier minister’s spokesperson said determination was a request “for China and the U.K. to found a frank and constructive relationship,” but stressed that “the challenges posed by China are systemic” and “long-term.”

The 2 leaders are apt to sermon the warfare successful Ukraine, vigor information and clime alteration among different issues, No. 10 said.

Theresa May was the past premier curate to conscionable Xi, during a sojourn to Beijing successful January 2018, astatine a clip erstwhile Downing Street was inactive referring to the “golden era” of relations supposedly ushered successful by David Cameron and George Osborne.

U.K.-China relations person worsened successful the aftermath of China’s crackdown connected antiauthoritarian freedoms successful Hong Kong, the oppression of the Uyghur Muslim number of Xinjiang province, and concerns astir the information implications of allowing Chinese companies to physique captious nationalist infrastructure successful the U.K.

News of the gathering comes aft Sunak softened his connection connected China and suggested helium was abandoning plans to state the state a “threat” arsenic portion of a large reappraisal of British overseas policy.

In effect to questioning from POLITICO during the trip, Sunak described China arsenic “a systemic challenge” but stressed that dialog with Beijing was indispensable to tackling planetary challenges specified arsenic clime change.

Speaking to Sky News Tuesday, the PM said: “I deliberation our attack to China is 1 that is precise akin to our allies, whether that’s America, Australia and Canada — each countries that I’m talking astir precisely this contented with portion we’re present astatine the G20 summit.”

Sunak’s spokesperson said Tuesday that the premier curate would “obviously rise the quality rights grounds with President Xi” astatine the meeting.

But helium added: “Equally, nary of the issues that we are discussing astatine the G20 — beryllium it the planetary economy, Ukraine, clime change, planetary wellness — nary of them tin beryllium addressed without coordinated enactment by the world’s large economies, and of people that includes China.”

Xi has already held bilateral talks with assorted leaders during the acme | Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Xi has already held bilateral talks with U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese among different leaders during the summit.

In summation to the talks with Xi, Sunak volition besides clasp meetings with Biden, Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Iain Duncan Smith, the erstwhile Tory person and co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance connected China, warned that the U.K. was “drifting into appeasement” with Xi.

“I americium disquieted that the contiguous premier minister, erstwhile helium meets Xi Jinping, volition beryllium perceived arsenic anemic due to the fact that it present looks similar we’re drifting into appeasement with China, which is simply a catastrophe arsenic it was successful the 1930s and truthful it volition beryllium now,” helium said. “They’re a menace to our values, they’re a menace to economical stability.”

Bob Seely, different Tory MP and subordinate of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance connected China, added: “We request to speech to nations, particularly those that whitethorn situation our values and stability, but it is unsafe to normalize relations erstwhile they are not normal.”

But Alicia Kearns, seat of the Commons overseas affairs prime committee and a subordinate of the China Research Group, welcomed Sunak’s gathering with Xi. “It is important they conscionable to forestall miscalculations,” she said. “We cannot simply chopped disconnected China, we indispensable enactment to make the abstraction for dialogue, situation and cooperation.”