Last week, David Lammy was shaking hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the same man who denied allegations of Chinese genocide against the Uyghurs, claiming accusations were “ridiculously absurd” and “a complete lie.” Now Uyghur groups have blasted Labour for “falling behind” its allies to stand up to China…

One leading Uyghur activist, Rahima Mahmut, slammed Lammy’s visit:

“The Conservative governments all those years [had] big words but very little action. But, sadly, after Labour came into power I didn’t even hear big words. I am very, very disappointed, the community is very disappointed. At the moment [the] UK is falling behind.”

Mahmut isn’t the only one who’s furious over Labour’s notably softer stance on China since coming into government. The UK Uyghur Community group tells Guido:

“Lots of promises were made – now we can see the opposite is happening. The entire diaspora is concerned. A trading mission is a cause for concern. The new government hasn’t taken action [on Uyghurs].”

On entering government Lammy conspicuously refused to honour his promise of accusing the Chinese of genocide before initiating talks with the country’s Foreign Ministry in July, culminating in his cosy visit last week. He jetted off before Labour’s promised “full audit across Whitehall” of the UK’s relationship with China, and the government is still refusing to explain what its status is. Human rights activists are lining up to attack Labour while the Chinese state media lathers praise on Lammy…

Surprise, surprise – the Chinese press is celebrating Lammy’s obsequious visit to Beijing. The Global Times says “the visit may have the purpose for the UK to review and adjust its China policy.” The state-run paper says it’s about abandoning Tory opposition to the regime:

“The Labour government needs to change the UK’s chaotic China policy over the past decade or so, therefore the visit could be an attempt to stabilize and improve the relationship with Beijing… Although the new Labour government reportedly seeks less confrontational ties with China and to resume trade and investment talks, they still need to balance the impact of the Conservative Party. To bring China-UK relations back on track, the Keir Starmer administration needs to make a clear distinction between its China policy and that of the Conservative Party… the UK should reassess its China policy from a more practical and impartial perspective.”

The praise doesn’t stop there:

• Xinhua celebrates that the UK and China will “have in-depth communication on enhancing strategic mutual trust and strengthening dialogue and cooperation in various fields.“
• China Daily points out that since Labour has come to power “China and the UK have seen good momentum in exchanges at various levels, as senior officials from the two countries, including ministers, have held talks or made phone calls covering areas such as economy, finance, diplomacy and energy.“
• People’s Daily says the governments will now “strive for mutual benefits and a win-win situation, and promote the sustained and steady growth of bilateral relations.“

Obviously none of them bother mentioning the FCDO’s briefing to concerned Western journalists that Lammy will “raise human rights concerns about China’s treatment of the Uyghurs and its support of the Russian war in Ukraine.” Cursory castigation from Lammy which will be ignored…

China sees this as a sign that Labour is taking the opposite approach to the Tories. Lammy has walked into the dragon’s mouth…

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…

David Lammy’s visit to China has been officialy confirmed. He will fly tomorrow for a two-day trip…

The Foreign Secretary has been busy warming up to China. Along with handing the Chagos Islands to China-ally Mauritius, he said earlier this year: “We have been very concerned that the government seems to have given up entirely on engagement with China. No one seems to have gone from our government to China, which is very, very bizarre.” Lammy is obsessed with attacking Tories for refusing to “engage” with China while sending his ministerial team for meetings with Xi Jinping’s strategic mastermind Wan Huning…

The government refuses to call China a threat because the “deep and complex” relationship can’t be “boiled down to one word.” Now Lammy visits China before Commonwealth allies Australia, Canada, or New Zealand. Eyebrows will be raised very high down under, where China is a major strategic enemy…

Before the election Labour promised “a full audit across Whitehall of our relationship with China so that we can set the direction and a course.” The government is refusing to explain what its status is, and today defends the visit as a “necessary pragmatic engagement.” Lammy is visiting before the “direction and course” are set – Where is the audit?

It’s been confirmed today that David Lammy is now set to visit China next week. Earlier than anticipated…

Labour says the point is to “overhaul Britain’s ties with China” and seek “less confrontational ties with the world’s second-largest economy and to resume trade and investment talks.” Was handing over Chagos to China’s ally Mauritius a first step to chummier ties?

Meanwhile Reeves is set to revive the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue talks in January. China says it is looking forward to meeting Lammy “on the basis of mutual respect and win-win cooperation.” They’ll be in a good mood with him…

The government’s Chagos handover is entirely in China’s interests – Chinese direct investment in Mauritius was $46 million in 2020, taking its total cumulative investment to a whopping $887 million. Over 18% of Mauritius’s total imports came from China that year – which has only increased. Meanwhile the Pentagon warned that it was concerned over any potential ceding of strategic territory to a state under Chinese influence…

In a cozy conversation with the Lowy Institute in May, Lammy said exactly what the Chinese would want to hear:

“We have an important trading relationship. Climate requires cooperation. Health requires cooperation, AI requires cooperation. And so it’s important that we’re engaged. We have been very concerned that the government seems to have given up entirely on engagement with China. No one seems to have gone from our government to China, which is very, very bizarre.”

Labour has repeatedly criticised the Tories for refusing to “engage” with China while promising to “reconnect” with it. This year then-Shadow Asia Minister Catherine West, reporting to Lammy, visited the country specifically to meet with Xi Jinping’s strategic mastermind Wan Huning. Highly irregular…

On entering government Lammy curiously refused to honour his promise of accusing the Chinese of genocide in in Xinjiang. He subsequently met with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Laos at the end of July and “set out that the government would cooperate where we can.” Cooperation means give and take…

Labour dark lord Peter Mandelson is busy lobbying for an end to the “Tory boycott” of Hong Kong and the reopening of relations with China. Both Lammy and Reeves are angling for visits to China as part of a reorientation towards “engagement” with the totalitarian state. The decision to give up strategic military assets in the Indian Ocean to a China-aligned country will be warmly received in Beijing ahead of those talks…