Foreign Secretary David Lammy is in Beijing today, pictured next to the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. This is the same Wang Yi who denied allegations of Chinese genocide against the Uyghurs, claiming such accusations were “ridiculously absurd” and “a complete lie.” Human rights groups would disagree – as did Lammy himself just last year…

For years there have been reports that over a million Uyghurs have been detained in “re-education camps,” with hundreds of thousands imprisoned in recent years. Now, Starmer’s spokesman is claiming the UK will “cooperate and compete [with China] where needed”. A notable softening of the language now Labour are in government, and Lammy has a red box…

Lammy is spinning this visit as a crucial step for resetting UK-China relations, saying:

“Engagement with China is pragmatic and necessary to support UK and global interests. From stopping Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine to supporting a global green transition, we must speak often and candidly across both areas of contention as well as areas for cooperation in the UK’s national interest.”

That would make for awkward small talk. Just last month, Wang was singing Vladimir Putin’s praises and applauding strengthening China-Russia ties, saying this to Putin’s face:

“Under your leadership, the strong momentum in China-Russia relations has been maintained, making both countries key contributors to strengthening multilateralism on the global stage… we are continuously achieving new results in all areas of cooperation, for the benefit of our nations.”

Beijing and Moscow will be popping the champagne over these photos…