Keir Starmer has defended his decision to shake hands with Xi Jinping, as critics warned he is 'naïve' to trust China's communist dictator. Sir Keir is due to meet President Xi in the small hours of Thursday morning after becoming the first British PM to travel to China in eight years. But speaking ahead of talks with President Xi, Sir Keir said it was time to end the 'ice age' in relations with Beijing and pursue 'huge' economic opportunities with the emerging superpower. If you take Hong Kong alongside China, it's our third-biggest trading partner. 'That seems to be a very simple thing for the Hong Kong and Chinese government to do if we're talking about normalisation of relationships.'