Sir Keir Starmer will meet President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit this week, with the government saying it wants a “stable and pragmatic engagement” with China.
The Prime Minister will say it is right to engage with China on “areas of mutual cooperation” such as international stability, climate change and economic growth.
But Downing Street said he would also be “committed to the need to have honest conversations on areas of disagreement”, and that that engagement would be “rooted at all times in Britain’s national interests”.
Speaking to reporters on the way to the meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Sir Keir said “strengthening support for Ukraine” was at the top of his agenda.
The summit follows large-scale missile and drone attacks by Russia across Ukraine this weekend, and will take place as the conflict approaches its thousandth day.
It also comes amid reports that the US has authorized the use of long-range missiles it supplies to Ukraine to attack Russia – a request that Western allies have previously hesitated to grant.
The prime minister is expected to call on other G20 countries to step up their support for Ukraine or face “unfathomable consequences” if Russia is allowed to emerge victorious.
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The meeting between Sir Keir and Xi will be the first time since 2018 that a British prime minister has met the Chinese president in person.
Downing Street said the two would meet on Monday.
The pair spoke by phone in August, after Labour’s election victory last month, but have not yet met in person.
China’s military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine has drawn criticism from Britain and other Western countries.
The Prime Minister said: ‘It is in Britain’s interests to engage on the world stage – whether that means building strong and fruitful partnerships with our closest allies or being outspoken to those whose values differ from those of others. our.
“Close collaboration with the world’s leading economies is vital to securing investment in Britain and creating the jobs needed to catalyze growth.”
Foreign Minister David Lammy held talks in Beijing last month with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and Deputy Prime Minister Ding Xuexiang.
The last British Prime Minister to meet President Xi was Theresa May, who hailed a “golden era” for Britain’s relations with China during her 2018 visit to the country.
However, there have been tensions since then over issues including China’s treatment of the Uighur 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 administration, he also said it was necessary to engage with China on issues such as climate change and the global economy.
The G20, which consists of 19 countries with the largest world economies, as well as the African Union and the European Union, will meet in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister will also focus at the summit on building partnerships that increase economic growth and security, accelerate the climate transition and use of clean energy, and support the economic development of developing countries.
