Starmer hails importance of 'strong' UK-China ties in Xi meeting

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the importance of a "strong UK-China relationship" while raising concerns over several contentious issues as he met China's President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday.

In the first bilateral meeting between a British prime minister and the Chinese leader since February 2018, Starmer told Xi the UK would be "committed to the rule of law".

Ties between the UK and China have faltered in recent years.

Xi in turn told the British leader, who took power in July, that the two countries had "vast space for cooperation", according to China's state media.

"China and Britain should uphold their strategic partnership and open up new prospects for China-UK relations," Xi said.

The meeting in Rio de Janeiro comes with relations at a low ebb after years of acrimony over various issues, in particular UK criticism that special freedoms guaranteed under Hong Kong's mini-constitution have been eroded.

Wider claims of Chinese espionage and political interference in the UK, as well as alleged Beijing-backed cyberattacks, have led some British lawmakers to demand a more isolationist approach to China.

But Starmer's nascent administration sees the opportunity for a reset of relations, as it explores all avenues to boost flatlining economic growth in Britain.

"We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible," Starmer told Xi at the start of the meeting at the Sheraton Grand hotel.

"The UK will be a predictable, consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law," he added, proposing that the two countries hold a full bilateral meeting in Beijing or London.

However, as journalists were being ushered out of the room, Starmer could be heard raising several contentious issues between the two capitals, including the case of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy activist and British national imprisoned in Hong Kong.

Lai, the 76-year-old tycoon and founder of the now-shuttered tabloid Apple Daily, is accused of colluding with foreign forces, a charge that could carry a sentence of up to life in prison.