Shortly before Sunak's meeting with China's Xi Jinping, it was cancelled

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Rishi Sunak's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping has been cancelled, Downing Street said.

On Wednesday morning, UK time, the prime minister was due to meet Mr Xi at the G20 summit in Bali, the first time a British leader had met him in almost five years.

However, the much-anticipated meeting was canceled shortly before it was due to take place due to scheduling issues, a Downing Street spokesperson told Sky News.

Sunak holds press conference from G20 amid Poland missiles - live politics updates

An emergency meeting between the leaders of NATO and the G7 countries was planned for Wednesday morning after a missile was fired into Poland on Tuesday night and two civilians were killed.

China is not part of the G7 so Mr Xi was not at the emergency meeting.

There were suggestions that the missile was fired by the Russians at NATO member Poland, but US President Joe Biden suggested that the missile was not fired from Russia.

An urgent investigation is underway to find out who fired the shots.

A roundtable of like-minded leaders pledged their "full support" for Poland's investigation into the initial assessment by US intelligence that the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian.

Mr Sunak left for the G20 summit on Sunday without confirming he would meet Mr Xi and said he was "hopeful" they would meet, but the bilateral was confirmed on Tuesday evening, before calling off hours later.

On Tuesday, Mr Sunak told Sky News China "represents the single biggest direct threat to our economic security" and said his approach to Mr Xi "will be the same as that of our allies" such as the US and Australia.

Both Western leaders have been more outspoken against China than the UK as they have directly railed against potential illicit Chinese political influence in Taiwan and Australia for the US.

Mr Sunak has been accused by critics, including in his own party, of softening his rhetoric against China since becoming prime minister after he called Beijing a "threat" rather than a "challenge" during the summer leadership campaign.

At the time, he accused Beijing of "stealing our technology and infiltrating our universities", "supporting Putin's fascist invasion of Ukraine", bullying Taiwan and violating the human rights of the Uyghur and Hong Kong people, as well as suppressing their currency. "Constantly rigging the world economy in their favor".

Downing Street insisted that Mr Sunak had been "candid" during his meeting with Mr Xi and raised China's poor human rights record. Now that won't happen.

Alicia Kearns, Conservative chair of the influential Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and part of the China Research Group, said it was a "shame" that Mr Sunak's meeting with Mr Xi was no longer taking place.

"Dialogue is vital to prevent miscalculation, and is not a sign of weakness," he said. "The lack of trust at this time is clear, and the meeting was important to define our position and lay the groundwork to prevent miscalculation."

While in Bali, Mr. Sunak held one-on-one meetings with Canada's Justin Trudeau and Mr. Biden. A meeting with Japan's Fumio Kishida was canceled on Wednesday as the two attended an urgent G7 meeting.

Mr Sunak is due to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Wednesday, when he is set to secure a deal to allow 3,000 young professionals from India to work in the UK for two years as the UK continues to try to strike a trade deal. with India. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to speak to Australia's Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Also Read

related post in the middle

Rishi Sunak's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping has been cancelled, Downing Street said.

On Wednesday morning, UK time, the prime minister was due to meet Mr Xi at the G20 summit in Bali, the first time a British leader had met him in almost five years.

However, the much-anticipated meeting was canceled shortly before it was due to take place due to scheduling issues, a Downing Street spokesperson told Sky News.

Sunak holds press conference from G20 amid Poland missiles - live politics updates

An emergency meeting between the leaders of NATO and the G7 countries was planned for Wednesday morning after a missile was fired into Poland on Tuesday night and two civilians were killed.

China is not part of the G7 so Mr Xi was not at the emergency meeting.

There were suggestions that the missile was fired by the Russians at NATO member Poland, but US President Joe Biden suggested that the missile was not fired from Russia.

An urgent investigation is underway to find out who fired the shots.

A roundtable of like-minded leaders pledged their "full support" for Poland's investigation into the initial assessment by US intelligence that the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian.

Mr Sunak left for the G20 summit on Sunday without confirming he would meet Mr Xi and said he was "hopeful" they would meet, but the bilateral was confirmed on Tuesday evening, before calling off hours later.

On Tuesday, Mr Sunak told Sky News China "represents the single biggest direct threat to our economic security" and said his approach to Mr Xi "will be the same as that of our allies" such as the US and Australia.

Both Western leaders have been more outspoken against China than the UK as they have directly railed against potential illicit Chinese political influence in Taiwan and Australia for the US.

Mr Sunak has been accused by critics, including in his own party, of softening his rhetoric against China since becoming prime minister after he called Beijing a "threat" rather than a "challenge" during the summer leadership campaign.

At the time, he accused Beijing of "stealing our technology and infiltrating our universities", "supporting Putin's fascist invasion of Ukraine", bullying Taiwan and violating the human rights of the Uyghur and Hong Kong people, as well as suppressing their currency. "Constantly rigging the world economy in their favor".

Downing Street insisted that Mr Sunak had been "candid" during his meeting with Mr Xi and raised China's poor human rights record. Now that won't happen.

Alicia Kearns, Conservative chair of the influential Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and part of the China Research Group, said it was a "shame" that Mr Sunak's meeting with Mr Xi was no longer taking place.

"Dialogue is vital to prevent miscalculation, and is not a sign of weakness," he said. "The lack of trust at this time is clear, and the meeting was important to define our position and lay the groundwork to prevent miscalculation."

While in Bali, Mr. Sunak held one-on-one meetings with Canada's Justin Trudeau and Mr. Biden. A meeting with Japan's Fumio Kishida was canceled on Wednesday as the two attended an urgent G7 meeting.

Mr Sunak is due to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Wednesday, when he is set to secure a deal to allow 3,000 young professionals from India to work in the UK for two years as the UK continues to try to strike a trade deal. with India. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to speak to Australia's Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.