RIO DE JANEIRO — Chinese officials bundled British journalists out of a G20 meeting between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chinese President Xi Jinping Monday.

Reporters were aggressively ushered out of the bilateral in Rio de Janeiro as Starmer raised human rights in what marked the first meeting between a British PM and Xi in more than six years.

Starmer used the ice-breaker of a meeting to propose that he visits Chinese premier Li Qiang in Beijing or hosts him in London. It’s an attempt to thaw the frosty relations between the two sides that set in under Starmer’s Conservative predecessors.

The U.K. prime minister secured the meeting as he tries to find ways to boost Britain’s sluggish economic growth and deepen relations in a time of global turmoil.

He pitched Britain as a “predictable, consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law,” addressing Xi as political reporters were invited in to cover his opening remarks for colleagues in the traveling U.K. press pack.

“We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, and as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible,” Starmer said from the room at the Sheraton Grand Hotel. “A strong U.K.-China relationship is important for both of our countries and for the broader international community.”

But the situation shifted as Starmer went on to raise human rights, Taiwan, Chinese sanctions on British parliamentarians and the case of Jimmy Lai — the British national pro-democracy media mogul who is facing trial in Hong Kong. The PM said he was “concerned” to hear of Lai’s “deterioration.”

At that point the two British reporters in the room were removed by Beijing’s officials.

‘Level playing field’

Elsewhere in the meeting, Starmer suggested his Chancellor Rachel Reeves could meet with her counterpart He Lifeng, in an effort to restart the long-stalled U.K.-China Economic and Financial Dialogue. 

Those talks will be particularly interesting as Donald Trump returns to the White House threatening to hit China with punitive tariffs under his “America First” policy. 

“I’m keen that my chancellor should meet with Vice Premier He for the upcoming economic financial dialogue early next year to explore more investment projects and a more level playing field to help our businesses,” Starmer said. 

Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported that Xi told Starmer the two countries “should uphold their strategic partnership and open up new prospects for China-U.K. relations.”

The Chinese premier also called on the two countries to “live up to our strategic partnership and commit to mutual respect, openness [and] cooperation.”

In a helpful nod to Britain’s new prime minister, Xi said the U.K. government is “working to fix the foundations of the economy and rebuild Britain” — two buzz-phrases from Labour’s own campaigning material.

Waxing and waning relationship

Starmer is the first U.K. PM to meet Xi since Theresa May’s February 2018 trip to Beijing. Rishi Sunak had planned a meeting in 2022 but the schedule was torn up as leaders held emergency meetings after a missile strike in NATO-member Poland near its border with Ukraine.

During a recent peak in relations in 2015, David Cameron declared a “golden era” with China while PM at a time when the Conservatives were actively courting Beijing. 

Relations later frayed under Boris Johnson, however, as Trump pressured Britain to purge Chinese firm Huawei from Britain’s 5G network. Given that the matter was one of national security, the U.K. sided with America, but the move clearly soured ties with China.