Starmer, Xi signal reset in China-UK ties, eye economic wins

Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that he wanted to build a “sophisticated relationship” with Beijing to boost the UK economy, signalling a reset after years of strained ties.

On the key day of his four-day visit to China, the first by a British prime minister in eight years, Starmer held an 80-minute summit with Xi at the Great Hall of the People before they lunched together. Starmer said the pair chatted about soccer and Shakespeare, as well as business matters.