In a meeting at the G20 summit in Rio, the first between the UK and China's leaders in six years, Starmer said he would be keen to host a full bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping and China's premier, Li Qiang, in Beijing or London as soon as possible, aimed at turning the page on frosty UK-China relations.
But the prime minister also raised human rights concerns with the Chinese president about sanctions on British Conservative MPs and the deterioration of Lai, a British citizen and Hong Kong democracy activist.
Starmer promised a "strong UK-China relationship" and said the pair had agreed there should be no more "surprises" between the two countries. Chinese officials bundled British journalists out of the meeting when Starmer raised the plight of Lai, who is being held in Hong Kong.
In a marked change of tone from previous years, Xi said Starmer was "fixing the foundations" of the UK economy, echoing the prime minister's own slogan. He said the pair would "break new ground" in the relationship.
This story is from the November 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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