David Lammy, the new Foreign Secretary, warned China not to become embroiled in Russia’s attempt to undermine Ukraine.
He said Beijing should be “very careful” about deepening its partnerships with Russia, Iran and North Korea.
The Foreign Secretary was speaking in Poland, where he held two hours’ of talks with the country’s foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, at his country retreat near the city of Bydgoszcz.
Warning of the dangers that face the West from authoritarian states, Mr Lammy said: “I am concerned when I see Iranian drones turning up in Ukraine. I am concerned when I see shells from North Korea being used here on European soil.
“And of course, I’m concerned with the partnership that I see Russia brokering across those authoritarian states. I think that China should be very careful about deepening those partnerships over the coming weeks and months.”
The Foreign Secretary also addressed the issue of Gaza, which caused Labour such problems last week with the election of a handful of pro-Palestinian MPs.
He said: “We have been calling for a ceasefire now since the end of last year.
“All of us hope that in the days that follow, the Biden plan can be adopted by Hamas, and of course by the Israeli government, and we can see that ceasefire. We want to see those hostages out.
“And you cannot look away from the amount of people that have lost their life in Gaza, many of them women and children, and not want to see that loss of life alleviated.
“There is an absolute need for aid to get in unfettered in the way that we have been calling for in the international community.”
