United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer is on a three-day state visit to China as he seeks to deepen economic and security ties with the world’s second-largest economy after years of acrimonious relations.This is the first trip by a UK prime minister to China since Theresa May met Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2018.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listHere’s what you need to know about the trip aimed at mending ties at a time of global uncertainties:What’s on Starmer’s agenda for China?The UK PM met Xi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Thursday. He will next head to Shanghai to meet British and Chinese business leaders, according to his official itinerary.After their meeting on Thursday, Starmer and Xi called for a “comprehensive strategic partnership” between the two nations.“China-UK relations experienced setbacks in previous years, which were not in the interests of either country,” Xi said. “In the current complex and ever-changing international situation … China and the UK need to strengthen dialogue and cooperation to maintain world peace and stability.”In his opening remarks, Starmer told Xi the two nations should “work together on issues like climate change, global stability during challenging times”.The prime minister is accompanied by a delegation of nearly 60 representatives of businesses and cultural organisations, including banking conglomerate HSBC, pharmaceutical giant GSK, carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and the UK’s National T …
