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Subject: The Chinese president is not coming to Britain to ‘debate human rights’, his officials insisted ahead of tomorrow’s state visit
Excerpt: English text from the archived bilingual edition · Chinese edition
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The Chinese president is not coming to Britain to ‘debate human rights’, his officials insisted ahead of tomorrow’s state visit
In a warning to Jeremy Corbyn, China’s UK ambassador said he did not expect the issue to be discussed during the Queen’s state banquet
Liu Xiaoming said that British politicians ‘know how to behave on occasions like this’
He claimed China did not shy away from ‘candid discussion’ of human rights, but said it should be undertaken in private
President Xi Jinping and his wife will visit the UK for three days, with a stay at Buckingham Palace and a white-tie state banquet attended by David Cameron and Mr Corbyn
The visit is expected to see the signing of multi-billion-pound deals for China to invest in replacing Britain’s ageing nuclear power plants – despite concerns raised by the security services
The Chinese President has also requested fish and chips for lunch in the countryside on Thursday afternoon
A source told the Sunday Times: ’The Chinese are desperate to order fish and chips. They’ve asked about it repeatedly. I don’t know if they know something we don’t about the Chequers kitchens. It’s all part of the president’s view of himself as a man of the people.’
Mr Corbyn’s spokesman said last week that the Labour leader would seek to raise human rights abuses in private meetings, but did not rule out discussing the issue at the dinner
Asked if the president would be offended by this, Mr Liu said: ‘You think [the] Labour Party will raise this issue at a state banquet? I don’t think so. I think the president is here for co-operation, for partnership. He is not here for debate about human rights.’
He told The Andrew Marr Show on BBC1: ‘I think the state banquet is for Her Majesty, it is her show… Jeremy Corbyn or others are their guests. I think British people are very, very smart, they know how to behave on occasions like this.’
The ambassador said he met with Mr Corbyn last week, and confirmed he would be granted an audience with Mr Xi. After a successful trip to China by George Osborne last month, David Cameron has spoken of a ‘golden era’ in relations with China
The Treasury hopes to make China Britain’s second largest trade partner within a decade, and this week may see 150 deals signed – including on healthcare, aircraft manufacturing and energy
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