Foreign Secretary Lammy set for China visit

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Louise Thomas

Editor

Foreign Secretary David Lammy is set to travel to China next week.

The visit comes as the Government carries out an audit of the UK-China relationship.

The Foreign Office (FCDO) would not confirm Mr Lammy’s trip, but a Reuters report from Beijing suggested he would meet Chinese officials in the capital and representatives of British firms in Shanghai.

A Foreign Office spokesman said ministerial travel would be confirmed in the usual way.

Labour’s manifesto committed to “improve the UK’s capability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses through an audit of our bilateral relationship” and No 10 confirmed that work is “ongoing”.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government wants the audit to inform a “long-term and strategic approach” to the Chinese question after “14 years of damaging Conservative inconsistency over China”, the party’s manifesto said.

Mr Lammy met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in the margins of the Asean foreign ministers meeting in Laos in July, with the FDCO saying he “set out that the Government would co-operate where we can, compete where needed and challenge where we must”.

He also made clear the UK would stand firm in prioritising national security and supporting human rights.

The Prime Minister spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping in August, with No 10 saying he wanted to have “frank and honest discussions” including on areas of disagreement including Hong Kong and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.