Sir Keir Starmer was last night accused of ‘kowtowing’ to China as he prepared to cosy up to the country’s authoritarian leader later today.

The Prime Minister signalled a thaw in relations as he said he will take a ‘pragmatic’ approach towards Beijing’s communist regime.

Sir Keir will become the first British Prime Minister in six years to hold direct talks with President Xi Jinping as he tries to boost trade with the world’s second biggest economy.

But critics – including sanctioned former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith – accused him of a ‘betrayal’ of those who have suffered under the repressive regime.

Relations between the two countries have been in a deep freeze following China’s crackdown on democracy protests in Hong Kong and its brutal treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, which Labour once labelled a ‘genocide’.

Speaking to reporters while travelling to the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro yesterday, the PM said it was ‘important’ to improve relations and trade with China.

‘We are both global players, global powers, both permanent members of the security council and of the G20,’ he said.

‘China’s economy is obviously the second biggest in the world. It’s one of our biggest trading partners and therefore I will be having serious, pragmatic discussions with the president when I meet him.’

Asked whether he wanted to improve relations with Beijing, he added: ‘Given the size of the economy, it is very important that we have a pragmatic and serious relationship and that’s what I intend to pursue.’

Sir Keir ducked questions about China’s actions in Xinjiang, saying he had previously given ‘a whole series of answers in terms of my position’.

But he added: ‘I do think it’s important that we have serious engagement which is what I will be pursuing in my bilateral at the G20.’

Last night, Sir Iain accused the PM of ‘kowtowing’ to ‘the world’s greatest threat to the democratic global order’.

He said: ‘This is very sad. Those suffering genocide and slave labour under the brutal hands of Xi will feel betrayed.

‘Starmer will be seen as weak by Xi who will see him as coming to him in a “kowtow” begging for trade.’

Alicia Kearns, shadow security spokesman and China critic, accused Sir Keir of flip-flopping on foreign policy as he vowed to help Ukraine while befriending a country aligning with Russia.

She said: ‘You cannot [say] you want allies to redouble their efforts with Ukraine and at the same time promise security cooperation with those working against those same goals.’

She added that it was ‘quite something’ that the PM was holding a meeting with President Xi in the same week that Jimmy Lai, an imprisoned pro-democracy media tycoon and British citizen, faced a ‘show trial’ in Hong Kong.

Sir Keir was the Labour leader in 2021 when it backed a Commons motion calling for China’s conduct in Xinjiang to be formally branded ‘genocide’.

Posting on Twitter, he said at the time: ‘Labour condemns the persecution of the Uyghur community in China. We will be supporting amendments in Parliament today to ensure Britain never turns a blind eye to genocide.’

A few months later, Sir Keir’s Labour party appealed to Tory MPs to block ministers signing trade deals with countries implicated in genocide.

It came after Dominic Raab said the UK needed to be “flexible” when making trade deals with other countries.

Posting on Twitter, Sir Keir said: ‘Shameful that the Government plans to reward countries who commit human rights abuses with trade deals. We’re urging Conservative MPs to join Labour tomorrow in sending a united message that genocide can never be met with indifference, impunity or inaction.’

Last year, now Foreign Secretary David Lammy – who flew to the Chinese capital for talks last month – said Labour would ‘act multilaterally with our partners’ to seek recognition of China’s actions as genocide through the international courts. But Labour has been silent on the issue since the election.

Any attempt to cosy up to China will spark fury at Westminster, where seven Parliamentarians remain sanctioned by Beijing for speaking out about China’s grim human rights record.

They include Sir Iain, former security minister Tom Tugendhat and veteran Labour peer Helena Kennedy.

It will also sound alarms about any possibility of China’s involvement in the UK’s critical national infrastructure. The last government effectively banned new Chinese involvement in sectors such as nuclear power and the 5G network.

World leaders are gathering in Rio, where discussions are expected to focus on Ukraine and Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

The PM is expected to use talks with Joe Biden to urge the outgoing US President to fast track the approval of £17billion of loans to support Ukraine’s war effort, amid fears Mr Trump will block further aid.

Sir Keir said he would urge world leaders to ‘shore up’ support as the conflict approaches its thousandth day tomorrow.

He added he would not follow German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in opening talks with Vladimir Putin.

And he said he was concerned by North Korea’s decision to deploy troops to support Putin’s forces, which he warned has ‘serious implications’.