How Starmer’s ‘weak and meek’ state visit performance emboldened China

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of emboldening China with his “weak and meek” state visit to Beijing.

Critics have said the Prime Minister left the state visit virtually empty-handed after being humiliated by the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] in a series of public and diplomatic rebukes.

Video circulated by CCP-aligned propagandists shows the British premier being physically redirected by Chinese officials after he appeared to misstep and walk awkwardly in front of the Chinese honour guard.

Responding to the clip, Yamagami Shingo, a former Japanese diplomat to Britain, wrote: “Is this the image the UK would like to spread in the Indo-Pacific?

“Perhaps the PM doesn’t care about maintaining a great Britain. What is more serious is that such weak and meek behaviour undermines deterrence, emboldening the authoritarians and inviting their adventurism.”

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, also criticised the visit, saying the footage “says much more about Sir Keir Starmer than any words could”.

“We should never be in a situation where outsiders openly describe the ‘weak and meek behaviour’ of the British Prime Minister,” she said.

“Starmer went to China from a position of weakness and it showed.”

Another video, widely circulated across Asian media, appeared to show the Prime Minister mispronouncing the words “xie xie!” meaning “thank you”, before being corrected by Xi Jinping, China’s president.

Sir Keir was also subjected to what critics described as another diplomatic “slight” during a visit to the world-famous Forbidden City.

Unlike the private reception and red carpet treatment given to Donald Trump, who visited the ancient city with Xi, Starmer was guided round the imperial site by a tour guide while it remained open to tourists.

Human rights activist Luke De Pulford said: “Does anyone at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office know how much of a slight this was?

“The Chinese put a huge amount of effort into signalling importance through protocol. This was not an accident. It was intended to communicate something.”

Others pointed to an official Chinese state media readout of the meeting between Xi and Starmer.

Mandarin speakers noted that Starmer reportedly used a version of “you” intended for an inferior while talking to his superior, while Xi uses the peer-to-peer version of the word.

Former security minister Tom Tugendhat summarised the supposed political messaging behind the read out, writing on social media:

Sir Keir has said that he wants to build a “more sophisticated” relationship with China, arguing that a closer relationship with China is “imperative” for world peace.

He hailed the de-sanctioning of several hawkish MPs and visa-free travel for British tourists as a positive outcome of the trip.

However human rights activists, campaigners and politicians have labelled these as “tone deaf”.

One of the newly de-sanctioned Labour MPs, Nusrat Ghani, wrote on X: “Five years ago seven of us were sanctioned by the CCP for (...) exposing security concerns and Uyghur slave labour.

“Bartering our MP sanctions doesn’t change those facts nor help others in the UK targeted by CCP and sanctioned by them.”

Sebastien Lai, son of British political prisoner and founder of the pro-democracy news site Apple Daily Jimmy Lai, accused Starmer of having nothing to “show” for getting closer to China.

He told The Telegraph: “The Government has given China this massive embassy but what have we got to show for it?

“If they can’t even put a 78-year-old man, whose health they’ve already ruined and business they’ve stolen, onto a plane en route for England, then it sends a very clear message.

“It’s well within the power of both the Hong Kong authorities and Chinese authorities to do this. And if we’re talking about closer relationships, then shouldn’t this be the first thing China does to show good faith.

“If they’re not even willing to do something so simple, then it tells you all you need to learn about the relationship.”

He also labelled Starmer’s landmark policy of 30-day visa-free visits to China for British citizens as “tone deaf” – saying it would be a “one-way ticket” for human rights defenders like his father.

“So far the trip has been disappointing for me. I just want my father back. I love him and I miss him.

“And I don’t think someone like my father – a defender of the free press and democracy – deserves to die in prison. He is a hero.”

Hong Kong dissident and pro democracy activist Chloe Cheung, who has a HK$1 million (around £100,000) bounty on her head from the CCP, added: “In Chinese culture this whole trip was kind of an insult to Keir Starmer.

“Their attitude towards him is so dismissive and they were treating him like a clown.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]