Rishi Sunak faces backlash from MPs after becoming first PM in five years to hold talks with President Xi

RISHI Sunak is pushing for deeper ties with China as he becomes the first Prime Minister for five years to hold talks with President Xi.

But he faces a backlash from Tory MPs over “frank and constructive” discussions today at the G20 summit.

In the summer leadership contest, he labelled the Communist state “the biggest long-term threat to Britain”.

But Mr Sunak is expected to raise human rights, climate change, the global economy and Ukraine at the meeting.

No10 said last night that none of the issues can be addressed “without coordinated action by the world’s major economies . . . and that includes China”.

The countries have clashed over tech firm Huawei being banned from UK 5G networks and rights abuses.

The PM said: “China is a fact of the global economy and we’re not going to resolve challenges without them.”

But Sir Iain Duncan Smith warned him of “appeasement”.