Starmer to meet Chinese President Xi at G20 summit

Sir Keir Starmer is owed to conscionable with President Xi Jinping astatine the G20 acme this week, with the authorities saying it wants "stable and pragmatic engagement" with China.

The premier curate volition accidental it is close to prosecute with China connected "areas of communal cooperation" specified arsenic planetary stability, clime alteration and economical growth.

But Downing Street said helium would besides "be steadfast connected the request to person honorable conversations connected areas of disagreement", and that engagement would beryllium "rooted astatine each times successful the UK's nationalist interests".

Speaking to reporters connected his mode to the gathering successful Rio de Janeiro, Sir Keir said "shoring up enactment for Ukraine" was apical of his agenda.

The gathering betwixt Sir Keir and Xi volition beryllium the archetypal clip a UK premier curate has met the Chinese president successful idiosyncratic since 2018.

Downing Street said the 2 were expected to conscionable connected Monday.

The brace spoke implicit the telephone successful August, aft Labour's predetermination triumph the erstwhile month, but they person not yet met successful person.

China's subject enactment for Russia's warfare successful Ukraine has prompted disapproval from the UK and different Western countries.

The premier curate said: "It is successful the UK’s champion interests to prosecute connected the planetary signifier - whether that’s gathering beardown and fruitful partnerships with our closest allies oregon being frank with those whose values disagree from our own.

"Close practice with the world’s starring economies is captious to unafraid concern into the UK, and make the jobs needed to catalyse growth."

Foreign Secretary David Lammy held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, arsenic good arsenic Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, successful Beijing past month.

The past British premier curate to conscionable President Xi was Theresa May, who hailed a "golden era" for UK-China relations during her 2018 sojourn to the country.

However, since past determination person been tensions implicit issues including China's attraction of the Uyghur number radical successful Xinjiang and pro-democracy activists successful Hong Kong.

Last year, then-Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said China was "the biggest state-based menace to our economical security".

But similar the existent government, helium besides said it was indispensable to prosecute with China connected issues similar clime alteration and the planetary economy.

The G20, which is made up of 19 countries with the largest planetary economies arsenic good arsenic the African Union and the European Union, is gathering successful the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro.

Downing Street said the premier curate would besides beryllium focusing connected gathering partnerships that summation economical maturation and information during the summit, accelerating the clime modulation and usage of cleanable power, and supporting the economical improvement of processing countries.