BEIJING (AP) — The leaders of China and the U.K. were meeting Thursday as the two nations try to improve relations after several years of acrimony. Keir Starmer, the first British prime minister to visit in eight years, was holding talks with China’s leader Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing. The U.K. leader earlier met Zhao Leji, the chairman of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress. The disruption to global trade under U.S. President Donald Trump has made expanding trade and investment more imperative for many governments. Starmer is the fourth leader of a U.S. ally to visit Beijing this month, following those of South Korea, Canada and Finland.