Sir Keir Starmer will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil today.
He will become the first British premier to meet the authoritarian leader since 2018 when the pair hold talks in Rio de Janeiro amid a backlash from the Tories.
The Prime Minister said: “I am planning to have a bilateral with President Xi at the G20. I think that’s important.
“We are both global players, global powers, both permanent members of the Security Council and of the G20.
“China’s economy is obviously the second biggest in the world. It’s one of our biggest trading partners and therefore I will be having serious pragmatic discussions with the president when I meet him.”
The UK-China relationship has deteriorated in recent years, with concerns over security, human rights and the sanctioning of Westminster parliamentarians souring ties with Beijing.
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