Sir Keir Starmer was accused of “kowtowing” to Beijing as he prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping today.
He will be the first British prime minister to meet the authoritairian leader in more than half a decade when they hold talks at the G20 summit in Brazil.
Sir Keir pledged to have “serious, pragmatic discussions” when they speak at the two-day summit in Rio de Janeiro.
But former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith accused the PM of “kowtowing” to “the world’s greatest threat to the democratic global order”.
The China hawk, who is sanctioned by the country, told the Daily Mail: “This is very sad. Those suffering genocide and slave labour under the brutal hands of Xi will feel betrayed. Starmer will be seen as weak by Xi who will see him as coming to him in a kowtow begging for trade.”
Shadow security minister Alicia Kearns added: “You cannot [say] you want allies to redouble their efforts with Ukraine and at the same time promise security cooperation with those working against those same goals.”
The Xi meeting will be one in a series of discussions the Prime Minister is expected to have with world leaders at the two-day summit, with the Ukraine conflict likely to be high on the agenda.
Speaking to reporters en route to the summit on Sunday, Sir Keir 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.”
Asked if he wanted a better relationship with Beijing than previous governments, Sir Keir added: “Given the size of the economy it is very important that we have a pragmatic and serious relationship and that’s what I intend to pursue.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited China in October and pledged that the Government would bring “consistency” to the UK’s relations with the country.
He said that there had not been “sufficient contact” between London and Beijing under his predecessors, particularly on human rights issues.
