British PM Calls for Human Rights in China at G20, Unsettling Chinese Officials

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer poses for a photograph as he works while traveling on a government aeroplane en route to attend the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 17, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised human rights concerns with Chinese communist regime leader Xi Jinping at a G20 summit meeting on Nov. 18 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, prompting Chinese officials to remove journalists from the room, according to reporters on the scene.

This was Starmer’s first in-person meeting with Xi, and he stated the need for a strong UK–China relationship.

“I’m very pleased that my foreign secretary and [Chinese] Foreign Minister Wang met recently to discuss respective concerns, including human rights and parliamentary sanctions, Taiwan, the South China Sea, and our shared interest in Hong Kong,” Starmer told Xi, before bringing up political prisoner Jimmy Lai ahead of Lai’s planned testimony on Nov. 19.

Soon after Starmer addressed those topics, Chinese officials forcibly removed British reporters from the room, according to various media outlets. Most reports did not specify how many reporters were removed, though Politico said two reporters were taken out.

Lai is a British citizen, a Hong Kong businessman, a longtime backer of the Hong Kong democracy movement, and a critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In August 2020, Lai was arrested under the updated CCP-imposed Hong Kong National Security Law, which the international community has criticized as vague and draconian in nature. He was charged under the law for allegedly “colluding with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” and “conspiracy to defraud.” Lai was released on bail before it was revoked at the end of 2020, and he remains imprisoned. He is expected to testify in his trial for the first time tomorrow.

“We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lai’s deterioration and health in prison,” Starmer said.

Lai’s attorneys appealed to the United Nations in September, arguing that his detention posed a serious risk to his physical and mental health. They highlighted issues such as prolonged solitary confinement and the denial of independent medical care for his diabetes. Observers at his trial reported that Lai appeared to have lost significant weight, looked frail, and was visibly unwell during a court appearance, during which he had a fever. The U.N. had previously communicated with Chinese representatives regarding allegations of torture while Lai was imprisoned and, earlier this year, called for his release.

Xi told President Joe Biden on Nov. 16 that the Chinese regime has four “red lines”: Taiwan, democracy, human rights, and development rights. The CCP leader warned the United States to stay out of territorial disputes in the South China Sea, according to Chinese state media, which reported on a talk the two leaders had on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum summit in Peru.

During the G20 bilateral meeting, Starmer expressed the UK’s wish for a strong relationship with China and said it was in the interest of both countries and the broader international community, emphasizing the need for transparency and following the rule of law.

“We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible, and strengthen dialogue,“ Starmer said. ”The UK will be a predictable, consistent sovereign actor committed to the rule of law and [the] multilateral system.”

Starmer suggested additional in-person meetings between officials on issues of trade, climate, economy, technology, security, military, health, education, and development. He said investment and economic growth are important to both nations and  recommended that UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves meet with her Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, for economic talks early next year to discuss investments and a “level playing field.”

He also said he hoped to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang personally in Beijing or London.

Starmer is the first UK prime minister to meet with Xi since Theresa May’s 2018 trip to Beijing.