Keir Starmer is leaving the country again tomorrow amid Labour in-fighting.
Keir Starmer will head to Beijing on Tuesday (Image: Getty)
Keir Starmer will fly to China tomorrow for a controversial trip despite Labour’s civil war at home.
The Prime Minister will travel to Beijing with Chancellor Rachel Reeves and a business delegation in an effort to boost trade.
It will be the first prime ministerial visit to the country in eight years, Downing Street has confirmed.
The Prime Minister will also fly to Japan this week, No 10 said.
The visit marks a significant moment in Sir Keir’s bid to build bridges with Beijing after a freeze in Sino-British relations in the final years of the Conservative government.
It comes after controversial plans to build a huge new Chinese embassy in London were approved by the Government last week.
Sir Keir’s trip is the first by a British prime minister since Baroness Theresa May’s visit in 2018.
The Labour leader faces pressure from home to raise several difficult subjects with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, including China’s espionage activity, the treatment of the Uighur minority and the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner and British national.
A No 10 source the Government was determined to pursue a “hard-headed, grown-up” approach to its relationship with Beijing that “puts British families first”.
They added: “Sticking our heads in the sand and pretending China does not matter would be reckless, making Britain poorer and less secure.”
Meanwhile Sir Keir will jet away amid Labour infighting.
He had said that allowing Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to run for a Westminster seat would “divert our resources” from Labour’s campaigns in May elections.
But critics have accused Sir Keir and his allies of preventing Mr Burnham’s candidacy for factional reasons, fearing a leadership challenge from the mayor as both Labour’s poll ratings and his personal approval flounder.
