Jeremy Corbyn challenged China's strongman president Xi Jinping over human rights and the dumping of cheap steel during one-on-one talks tonight.

The Labour leader was given the unprecedented meeting after threatening to raise concerns at the state banquet at Buckingham Palace tonight.

Mr Corbyn praised the Chinese leader for his country's 'remarkable' achievement lifting millions of people out of poverty.

But he also 'raised the issues of human rights and the impacts of Chinese imports on the UK steel industry', a Labour spokesman confirmed tonight.

Jeremy Corbyn challenged China's strongman president Xi Jinping over human rights abuse during private one-on-one talks tonight

The Labour leader was given the unprecedented meeting after threatening to raise concerns at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace tonight

Mr Corbyn yesterday challenged David Cameron to press President Xi on the impact of cheap Chinese steel on British jobs.

It came after the Indian steel giant Tata announced 900 jobs in the industry will go at Scunthorpe and 270 in Scotland.

The announcement followed the closure of the Redcar steelworks on Teesside earlier this month with the loss of 2,200 jobs.

Steel giant Caparo also went into administration yesterday – threatening a further 2,000 jobs – sparking warnings from unions that one in six steel-making jobs in the UK could disappear.

Tonight, Mr Corbyn hailed his talks with the Chinese leader as 'cordial and constructive'.

A Labour spokesman said the pair had talked about the links between the Labour Party and China - 'in particular the huge contribution and sacrifice of the Chinese people in the struggle against fascism during the Second World War'.

Mr Corbyn also discussed 'major threats to world security such as climate change, persistent economic inequality and international terrorism'.

Ahead of the visit, Amnesty International warned the Chinese government was 'in the middle of its most intense crackdown on human rights for some years'.

Protesters are planning to shine a spotlight on human rights as the Chinese leader is paraded down the Mall in a horse-drawn carriage.

President Xi's supporters gather in The Mall ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's four day State Visit to the United Kingdom

Supporters of China's President Xi Jinping carry a dragon past human rights protesters as they wait on the Mall today

Campaigners from Free Tibet, Amnesty UK and other groups gathered near the George VI memorial in St James's Park near The Mall to demonstrate as Xi Jinping passes by.

But a rival pro-China protest set up camp at the same location in an attempt to counter the demonstrators' impact.

Security will be tight for the Chinese leader's four-day programme and the Metropolitan Police has spent more than five months planning for the visit.

During a Chinese state visit to the UK in 1999, the Metropolitan Police was accused of using vans to shield the presidential motorcade from protests, which it denied was the aim.

Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed both Houses of Parliament today

The force was criticised for its hardline handling of the peaceful protests and admitted following a High Court case that its officers acted unlawfully when they removed demonstrators' banners and flags.

The Free Tibet group, which calls for an end to Chinese occupation of Tibet, is also attempting to follow Mr Xi across London with a van carrying a digital photo of the Tibetan flag, an image of Mr Cameron being gagged by a Chinese flag and rotating messages including 'Xi Jinping: Tibetans will be free' and 'Warning: Chinese president in town. Don't mention Tibet or human rights'.

Alistair Currie, Free Tibet's campaign manager, said: 'In 1999, the police used vans to block Tibet protests from the sight of the visiting Chinese president.

'In 2015, we're using a van to make sure our message is seen. Tibet's Snow Lion flag may be banned in Beijing but it will never be far from Xi in London.'

China sent thousands of troops into Tibet in 1950 to enforce its claim on the territory, but over the decades has been criticised by human rights organisations for its governance of the region.

Other groups who claim they have been persecuted by the Chinese authorities will also join the protests - Uighurs, who are Chinese Muslims, and those who follow the Falun Gong spiritual movement which was outlawed in China in 1999.

Demonstrators will also stage further protests in the evening outside the Palace as the president, the Queen and some 170 politicians, dignitaries and specially selected guests gather for a grand sit down dinner in the Ballroom.

Mr Corbyn and the Prime Minister David Cameron listened to President's Xi's historic address to Parliament today

Campaigners called on Prime Minister David Cameron to tackle Mr Xi over human rights abuses.

Allan Hogarth, Amnesty UK's head of policy, said: 'China's got an appalling human rights record, which has only got worse under Xi Jinping.

'The UK shouldn't kowtow to China's threats that trade deals will only be won in return for staying quiet over human rights.

'China executes more people than the rest of the world put together, jails people who peacefully call for democratic reform and also muzzles the work of journalists.

'Mr Cameron should start by publicly asking where missing lawyer Wang Yu is.'

Human rights lawyer Wang Yu vanished from her Beijing home in July and is now believed to be in solitary detention. Amnesty UK said China had orchestrated a large scale clampdown on activists and lawyers with at least 245 targeted in the past 100 days and up to 30 still missing or in police custody.

Downing Street has rejected accusations of ''kowtowing'' to Beijing for the sake of commercial deals, insisting that no subject will be off the table in talks.

A Metropolitan police spokesman said they had been in contact with a variety of groups planning protests.

'Where there are demonstrations, officers from the Police Liaison Team will be on the ground to engage with protesters,' the spokesman said.