Keir Starmer to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at G20 summit

The prime minister said: “It is in the UK’s best interests to engage on the global stage – whether that’s building strong and fruitful partnerships with our closest allies or being frank with those whose values differ from our own.

“Close cooperation with the world’s leading economies is vital to secure investment into the UK, and create the jobs needed to catalyse growth.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, as well as Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, in Beijing last month.

The last British prime minister to meet President Xi was Theresa May, who hailed a “golden era” for UK-China relations during her 2018 visit to the country.

However, since then there have been tensions over issues including China’s treatment of the Uyghur minority group in Xinjiang and pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.

Last year, then-Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said China was “the biggest state-based threat to our economic security”.

But like the current government, he also said it was necessary to engage with China on issues like climate change and the global economy.