Keir Starmer arrived in China today as he bids to boost trade despite anger at rampant spying and human rights abuses.
The PM was handed a bouquet of flowers as he stepped off the plane in Beijing for the first visit by a UK premier for eight years.
Sir Keir has insisted that doing business with the Asian giant is essential, despite acknowledging that there must always be a robust approach on security.
He is accompanied by a delegation of business leaders – although Chancellor Rachel Reeves has notably been left behind in London.
However, Tories have accused him of ‘kowtowing’ in his desperation to kickstart the economy.
After claims that government officials’ phones were hacked in the past, Sir Keir told reporters on the flight there was no evidence anyone in his Downing Street operation had been targeted.
He was challenged about security in No10 following reports that state-sponsored hackers had exposed the private communications of close aides to Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
Intelligence sources are said to fear that the operation that began in 2021, known as Salt Typhoon, remains ongoing.
But asked en route to Beijing if his own staff had been successfully targeted, Sir Keir replied: ‘No, there’s no evidence of that.’
He went on: ‘We’ve got robust schemes, security measures in place as you’d expect.’
Sir Keir and his entire team are believed to have taken ‘burner’ devices such as new mobile phones and laptops as they departed on Tuesday night for the first visit by a British Prime Minister to China for eight years.
Keir Starmer stepped off the plane in Beijing for the first visit by a UK premier for eight years
Sir Keir was greeted with a bouquet of flowers as he arrived at the airport
Sir Keir has insisted that doing business with the Asian giant is essential, despite acknowledging that there must always be a robust approach on security.
Sir Keir is on a charter flight because security concerns prevented him taking a government jet
Flags are set up in preparation for Keir Starmer’s arrival in Beijing today
He and his delegation will hold a meeting with president Xi Jinping and premier Li Qiang (left)
A former Security Minister even suggested that the delegation, which also includes 50 leading figures from Britain’s business and culture sectors, had flown on a British Airways plane rather than the Government’s own plane to limit the risk posed by Chinese spies.
Tom Tugendhat wrote on social media: ‘Starmer’s circus aren’t just taking burner phones to China to beat spying, they’re taking a burner plane!
‘The government jet is staying home because it would need to be guarded round the clock to stop China putting bugs on it – so they’ve hired a plane!’
Speaking to reporters as he embarked on his trade mission to Beijing, Sir Keir would not be drawn on what he will say to President Xi Jinping about sensitive topics such as human rights abuses when they meet on Thursday.
But the PM insisted: ‘I’ve always raised issues that need to be raised, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself on the specifics until I’ve had the opportunity. But part of the reason for engaging with China is so that issues where we disagree can be discussed, and the issues where we agree can be progressed, and so that’s the approach.’
Asked what he hoped to get out of the trip, he replied: ‘China is the second biggest economy in the world, one of our biggest trading partners. And under the last government, we veered from the golden age to the ice age.
‘And what I want to do is follow through on the approach I’ve set out a number of times now, which is a comprehensive and consistent approach to China.
‘I do think there are opportunities, but obviously we will never compromise national security in taking those opportunities.’
Accompanied by a delegation of British business bosses, Sir Keir will hold talks on investment and national security with president Xi Jinping and premier Li Qiang on Thursday.
It comes just a week after the Prime Minister was branded ‘Kowtow Keir’ for allowing China to build a mega-embassy in London, despite fears it will become a base for espionage and the repression of dissidents.
And on Monday it was claimed that Chinese spies had hacked the mobile phones of senior officials in Downing Street for several years.
Sir Keir is under pressure to raise human rights concerns with the leaders of the Communist superpower, including the plight of jailed British citizen and democracy activist Jimmy Lai.
Another matter likely to be high on his agenda is ensuring Chinese company Jingye pays for decommissioning a Scunthorpe steelworks which the UK now controls.
Before embarking on his trip last night, No 10 claimed the Prime Minister was ‘clear-eyed and realistic’ about the challenges posed by China, as well as the opportunities.
Sir Keir added: ‘For years, our approach to China has been dogged by inconsistency – blowing hot and cold, from Golden Age to Ice Age. But, like it or not, China matters for the UK.
‘As one of the world’s biggest economic players, a strategic and consistent relationship with them is firmly in our national interest.
‘That does not mean turning a blind eye to the challenges they pose, but engaging even where we disagree.’
After the political talks, the delegation will travel to Shanghai for meetings with British and Chinese businesses. This will be followed by a final stop in Tokyo where Sir Keir will meet Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
Meanwhile, in an interview on the eve of the trip, Sir Keir insisted he could pursue a better trading relationship with China without upsetting Donald Trump.
He told Bloomberg: ‘I’m often invited to simply choose between countries. I don’t do that
