Sir Keir Starmer will meet Xi Jinping on Thursday at the start of a day of crucial meetings for the Prime Minister in Beijing. Later in the day, Sir Keir is expected to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and sign a number of new agreements between the UK and China. The Prime Minister is understood to regard Thursday’s meetings with the Chinese leadership as crucial for Britain. So far the crossings have continued, with 933 people making the journey already this year, bringing the total since Sir Keir came to power to 65,647. Addressing the trade delegation on Wednesday, Sir Keir said they were “making history” as the Government attempted to build a more “consistent” relationship with China.