Labour slammed for going soft on China

FOREIGN Secretary David Lammy is to be quizzed over the UK's China strategy by MPs this week when he speaks to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.

- Marco Giannangeli

Last week Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, held a private bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Brazil.

The day after his meeting with China's President, Beijing displayed its contempt for Britain by jailing 45 pro-democracy activists for up to 10 years each in Hong Kong - in direct breach of the Sino-British treaty.

It followed last year's placing by Beijing of £800,000 bounties on six Hong Kong dissidents living in the UK.

Seven MPs and peers remain officially sanctioned by Beijing for their opinions on Chinese policy at home and abroad.

Last month, Mr Lammy became only the second foreign secretary in six years to visit China, where he held a low-key meeting with his powerful counterpart, Wang Yi, and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.

While the Government has yet to conduct an audit of its China policy, Mr Lammy has stated he wants to establish a working relationship with China, after Rishi Sunak termed the country "Britain's greatest economic threat".