Sir Keir Starmer is on his way to Beijing, making the first trip to China by a British prime minister since 2018.

He is due to meet President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Around 60 British business and cultural leaders are also on the trip, including representatives from bank HSBC, pharmaceutical company GSK, Jaguar Land Rover and the National Theatre.

It marks the latest and most important moment in the government’s attempt to reboot the UK’s relationship with China. But critics argue China is of a wildly different world view, can’t be trusted and the government ought to be much more cautious in its dealings with its Communist Party.

When asked if the prime minister would raise human rights abuses with the president, Downing Street said he would “raise challenging issues where interests and values differ”.

China has been accused of committing crimes against humanity against the Uyghur population and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups in the north-western region of Xinjiang.

There has also been criticism over the treatment of Jimmy Lai – the Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon – who is facing a life sentence in prison.

In addition to China’s human rights record, there are concerns about the scale of its espionage activities in the UK, with the head of MI5 recently warning that Chinese state operatives presented a daily national security threat.

However, Downing Street has argued the visit is important.

Speaking ahead of the trip, the prime minister said: “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.”

Business Secretary Peter Kyle and Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby have joined the prime minister for the visit.

Kyle visited Beijing in September of last year shortly after being appointed business secretary.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited a year ago, a few months after the now deputy prime minister, then foreign secretary, David Lammy had been.

We can expect Sir Keir to argue that governments in recent years indulged in “isolationism” in their attitude to China and that “strategic re-engagement makes us stronger”.

Downing Street points out that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron have both been to Beijing recently, and the heads of government of both France and Germany have been several times since Theresa May visited as prime minister eight years ago.

The prime minister believes this has left the UK as an “outlier” among comparable Western economies.

US President Donald Trump is expected to visit in April.

Some in his administration are sceptical about the UK and others developing closer ties with Beijing.

Earlier this month, the government approved the building of a new Chinese embassy in London, which will be the biggest in Europe when it is completed.

Conservative shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: “Starmer has already surrendered to the Chinese Communist Party over their plan for a spy-hub super embassy in the heart of our capital.

“The evidence is overwhelming that China poses a serious threat to our national security and it is clear Starmer is going to China without any leverage.

“He lacks the backbone to stand up for Britain and is bending over backwards to appease Beijing.”

It won’t be the first time Sir Keir has met Xi. They met at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024.

After visiting Beijing and Shanghai, the prime minister will fly on to Tokyo to meet the new Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi.