The UK Foreign Secretary will raise human rights concerns about China’s treatment of the Uighurs and its support of the Russian war in Ukraine as he visits the country on Friday.
But Downing Street declined to describe actions taken against the minority group as amounting to a “genocide”, as David Lammy previously suggested in Labour’s 2023 shadow cabinet.
The Government has insisted his visit, which signals the resumption of high-level engagement with the country, comes with the “firm recognition” that London and Beijing “will not, and do not, always agree”.
But Mr Lammy is under pressure to take a robust stance on issues including continued allegations of human rights abuses against the Uighurs, the detention of British citizen Jimmy Lai, actions in the Taiwan Strait and China’s support for Russia.
Speaking as Mr Lammy arrived in Beijing on Friday, Number 10 appeared to distance the Government from remarks made before Labour entered office in which he suggested actions against the mainly Muslim Uighur group should be declared a genocide.
Asked whether this was the view of Sir Keir Starmer’s administration, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “It is the UK Government’s position that such judgments are for competent courts.
“However, we stand firm on human rights and we’ve been very clear that China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain the Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, and the Foreign Secretary is expected to raise this again during his trip.”
On his first trip to the country since taking office, Mr Lammy is meeting his counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing to discuss issues ranging from climate and trade to foreign policy matters including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Foreign Office said he would also hold talks with British businesses in Shanghai to discuss “how our economic links with China support growth in the UK”.
Speaking before travelling to the country, Mr Lammy said it was important to speak “candidly” about “both areas of contention as well as areas for co-operation in the UK’s national interest”.
“As permanent members of the UN Security Council with major global economies, the UK and China are global players. Our relationship matters,” he said.
“Engagement with China is pragmatic and necessary to support UK and global interests.
“From stopping Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, to supporting a global green transition, we must speak often and candidly across both areas of contention as well as areas for co-operation in the UK’s national interest.”
The Foreign Office said engagement with Beijing is “vital” due to its position as a rising global power and said the visit would kickstart a “stable, consistent and pragmatic approach to China”.
The Prime Minister has outlined the Government’s approach as “co-operate where we can”, “compete where we have different interests” and “challenge… where it is needed”.
China held large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands earlier this week, which Sir Keir described as “not conducive to peace and stability”.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, he said: “Stability in the Taiwan Strait is in all of our interests.”
Setting out his wider approach to China, Sir Keir said: “We will co-operate where we can as permanent members of the UN Security Council, on issues such as net zero and health and trade.
“Compete where we have different interests, and challenge… where it is needed to protect national security, human rights and our values. We will put that challenge in.”
In a press release ahead of the visit, the Foreign Office said: “UK diplomatic efforts with China will be one of serious, stable and pragmatic re-engagement across the full spectrum of government, prioritising the UK’s national interests.
“This will come with a firm recognition that the UK and China will not, and do not, always agree.
“We have significant differences including on democratic values and freedoms, Hong Kong and support for Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine; but we also have shared interests, including a global green energy transition, and deep economic links, with China including Hong Kong the UK’s fourth largest trading partner.”
