Sunak’s talks with Xi Jinping at G20 summit are AXED at the last moment

Rishi Sunak‘s key meeting with the Chinese premier was called off at the last moment today.

The PM had been expected to hold talks with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali. It would have been the first such face-to-face discussions since 2018.

However, the encounter – where Mr Sunak was expected to push for a ‘frank and constructive’ relationship with the Asian superpower – was abruptly cancelled.

Downing Street blamed schedules shifting due to the missile strike on Poland and an emergency meeting of G7 and NATO leaders.

But Mr Sunak’s other bilaterals went ahead, and UK officials suggested he had wanted the talks to happen.    

Tories had mounted a furious backlash at signs the PM wanted to take a softer approach to Beijing, despite condemnation of its human rights record and influence, and failure to oppose the war in Ukraine.  

Dozens of MPs have been barred from travelling to China over their critical stance, while Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has restricted access to Parliament for the ambassador to London.      

Ahead of the summit Mr Sunak softened his tone by branding the country a ‘challenge’ rather than a ‘threat’ to British values.

It was a marked contrast to the Tory leadership contest, when he said ‘for too long’ Western leaders had ‘rolled out the red carpet and turned a blind eye to China’s nefarious activity and ambitions’.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she had no information to offer on the cancellation of the meeting between Xi and Sunak. 

Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chair Alicia Kearns said it was ‘a shame’ that the talks were not happening.

‘Dialogue is vital to prevent miscalculations, and is not a sign of weakness,’ she said.

Downing Street is hoping to emulate the meeting between US President Joe Biden and Mr Xi on Monday, where there was a thawing of relations

‘The trust deficit is palpable at this time, and meeting was important to set out our positions and build the ground to prevent miscalculations.’

There have been serious differences between the UK and China over the British Government banning tech firm Huawei from 5G mobile phone networks amid security threats, a crackdown in Hong Kong that has led to refugees fleeing here, and human rights abuses against China’s Uighur ethnic group.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, co-chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said last night: ‘I am worried that the present Prime Minister, when he meets Xi Jinping, will be perceived as weak because it now looks like we’re drifting into appeasement with China.

‘If we don’t have them down as a strategic threat then nothing gets done on the ever-pressing threat that they pose… in what world are they not a threat to us?

‘They’re a threat to our values, they’re a threat to economic stability, they’re a threat to us because of their failure to co-operate with the World Health Organisation early on and that led to Covid spreading all over the world.’