The prime minister was due to meet Mr Xi at the G20 summit in Bali on Wednesday morning UK time, the first time a British leader had met him in nearly five years. But the much-anticipated meeting was canceled moments before it was scheduled to take place due to scheduling issues, a Downing Street spokesman told Sky News. Instead, an emergency meeting was planned between the leaders of NATO and the G7 nations, after missiles were fired into Poland and two civilians were killed on Tuesday night. China is not part of the G7, so Mr Xi will not be at this emergency meeting. There were indications that the missile had been fired by the Russians at NATO member Poland, but US President Joe Biden appeared to suggest that the missile may not have been fired by Russia. An urgent investigation is underway to find out who started it. Mr Sunak headed to the G20 summit on Sunday with no confirmation that he would meet Xi and said he was “hopeful” they would meet, but on Tuesday night the bilateral confirmation, before being cancelled. On Tuesday, Mr Sunak told Sky News that China “represents the biggest direct threat to our economic security” and said his approach to Xi would be “very similar to our allies”, such as the US and Australia. The leaders of both Western countries were more outspoken against China than the UK, as they had more immediate friction over Taiwan for the US and possible illicit Chinese political influence in Australia. Mr Sunak has been accused by critics, including within his own party, of softening his anti-China rhetoric since becoming Prime Minister after taking a harder line during the summer leadership campaign. At the time, he accused Beijing of “stealing our technology and infiltrating our universities” while “supporting Putin’s fascist invasion of Ukraine,” bullying Taiwan and violating the human rights of the Uyghurs and people in Hong Kong, as well as that depresses their currency. to “constantly skew the global economy in their favor”. Downing Street had insisted Mr Sunak would be “candid” in his meeting with Xi and raise China’s poor human rights record. That won’t happen now.
