Chinese officials expect Jeremy Corbyn to behave himself at a state banquet next week rather than raise human rights issues with President Xi Jinping.
Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, said in a finger-wagging TV interview that he did not think the Labour party leader would bring up the issue because British people “know how to behave”.
“You think the Labour party will raise this issue at a state banquet? I don’t think so. I think, you know, the president is here for co-operation, for partnership”, he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.
“He is not here for a debate about human rights.
“We all know that China (and the) UK differ very much, because we have a different history, different culture, we are in a different stage of development. It’s natural. We have difference, even with regard to human rights.”
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He added: “I think British people are very gentlemanly ... they know how to behave.”
Mr Xi’s state visit to the UK – the first by a Chinese president in a decade – starts tomorrow and will include meetings with the prime minister at Downing Street and dinner at Chequers, as well as a fish-and-chips lunch at a nearby pub.
As he prepared for the visit, Mr Xi praised Britain’s decision to strengthen commerical ties with China.
“The UK has stated that it will be the Western country that is most open to China. This is a visionary and strategic choice that fully meets Britain’s own long-term interest,” he told Reuters.
“China looks forward to engaging with the UK in a wider range, at a higher level and in greater depth.”
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It was revealed today, by the ambassador, that Mr Xi will have a meeting with Mr Corbyn at Buckingham Palace where the president will be staying as the Queen’s guest.
The ambassador told Sky’s Murnaghan Show: “President Xi will have a meeting with Jeremy Corbyn during the state visit at Buckingham Palace.
“We look forward to a productive, interesting meeting between the president and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Labour.”
When quizzed on whether the two politicians would “get on”, the ambassador said: “Socialists can debate. Socialist, capitalists can have a debate but we are here for common ground.
“In fact last week I had an interesting meeting with Jeremy Corbyn to prepare for (the) president meeting with him.”
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He also said that the Labour Party had made “important contributions” to developing relations between China and the UK.
The Chinese visit to the UK follows George Osborne’s trip to the country last month where he was praised for his “mild manner” on human rights.
Last week, however, Mr Corbyn’s spokesman said that the Labour leader would use the meeting “to raise the issue of human rights”.
He said: “There are meetings being discussed, and if he gets private meetings he will be raising it at those meetings. That is the right thing to do.”