Business Secretary Peter Kyle and Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby have joined the prime minister for the visit.
Kyle visited Beijing in September of last year shortly after being appointed business secretary.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited a year ago, a few months after the now deputy prime minister, then foreign secretary, David Lammy had been.
We can expect Sir Keir to argue that governments in recent years indulged in “isolationism” in their attitude to China and that “strategic re-engagement makes us stronger”.
Downing Street points out that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron have both been to Beijing recently, and the heads of government of both France and Germany have been several times since Theresa May visited as prime minister eight years ago.
The prime minister believes this has left the UK as an “outlier” among comparable Western economies.
US President Donald Trump is expected to visit in April.
Some in his administration are sceptical about the UK and others developing closer ties with Beijing.
Earlier this month, the government approved the building of a new Chinese embassy in London, which will be the biggest in Europe when it is completed.
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: “Starmer has already surrendered to the Chinese Communist Party over their plan for a spy-hub super embassy in the heart of our capital.
“The evidence is overwhelming that China poses a serious threat to our national security and it is clear Starmer is going to China without any leverage.
“He lacks the backbone to stand up for Britain and is bending over backwards to appease Beijing.”
It won’t be the first time Sir Keir has met Xi. They met at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024.
After visiting Beijing and Shanghai, the prime minister will fly on to Tokyo to meet the new Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi.
