It will be the first visit by a UK prime minister since Conservative Theresa May in 2018. Starmer will also make a brief stop in Japan to meet with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Starmer's visit comes after recent trips by Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and France's President Emmanuel Macron.

For Chinese President Xi Jinping, it will be an opportunity to show Beijing can be a reliable partner, at a time when President Donald Trump has rattled historic ties between the United States and its Western allies.

Starmer, who is battling record low popularity polls and hopes the visit can boost Britain's beleagured economy, is to arrive in Beijing around 0930 GMT on Wednesday.

The official program will begin on Thursday, with a meeting at the People's Palace with Zhao Leji, the third-ranking government official and chairman of the National People's Congress.

It will be followed by a lunch with Xi and then a meeting with Premier Li Qiang.

The talks will touch upon "trade, investment and national security," Downing Street said in a statement, with Starmer promising "stability and clarity in the government's approach."

Starmer said he aims to promote "pragmatic, consistent co-operation", according to the Downing Street statement, adding that he regrets the "inconsistency" of the previous Conservative government's approach to China.

On its side, China "is willing to take this visit as an opportunity to enhance political mutual trust," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said ahead of the trip.

For Beijing, the visit "marks as another success in its strings of diplomatic efforts in normalising relationship with the US's allies," noted Yu Jie, senior research fellow at policy think tank Chatham House.

Faced with the mercurial diplomacy of Trump, who is threatening Canada with tariffs for signing a trade agreement with China and attempting to create a new international institution with his "Board of Peace", Beijing has also been affirming its support for the UN.

- Jimmy Lai -

UK-China relations plummeted in 2020 after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong, which severely curtailed freedoms in the former British colony.

They soured further with both powers exchanging accusations of spying.

Since coming to power in 2024, Starmer has been at pains to reset ties with the world's second-largest economy and Britain's third-biggest trade partner.

He will be accompanied to China with some 60 business leaders from the finance, pharmaceutical, automobile and other sectors, and cultural representatives.

"As one of the world's biggest economic players, a strategic and consistent relationship with them is firmly in our national interest," insisted Starmer.

Several senior ministers, including the finance and energy ministers, have also made separate visits to China recently.

The Labour leader also spoke to Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November 2024.

"That does not mean turning a blind eye to the challenges they pose -- but engaging even where we disagree," added Starmer, who has been accused by the Conservative opposition of being too soft in his approach to Beijing.

Those accusations will shadow his visit as he tries to strike a balance between attracting vital investment and appearing firm on national security concerns.

He is expected to raise the case of Hong Kong media mogul and democracy supporter Jimmy Lai, 78, a British national facing years in prison after being found guilty of collusion charges in December.

In a letter addressed to Starmer, Reporters Without Borders urged the leader to secure Lai's release during his visit.

The UK government has also faced fierce domestic opposition after it approved this month contentious plans for a new Chinese mega-embassy in central London.

At the end of last year, Starmer acknowledged that China posed a "national security threat" to the UK, drawing flak from Chinese officials.

The countries also disagree on key issues, such as China's close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the war in Ukraine, and accusations of human rights abuses in China.