Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of a bilateral meeting in Beijing, China, Thursday, Jan.29, 2026. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP) via Associated PressChinese president Xi Jinping has appeared to make a dig at both Donald Trump and the Tories as he held talks with Keir Starmer in Beijing. President Xi told him: “Your visit this time has drawn a lot of attention. Advertisement“International law is only truly effective when all countries abide by it, and major powers, in particular, must take the lead; otherwise, they will regress to a jungle-like world,” Xi said. In a clear dig at the Tories, Xi said “China-UK relations went through some twists and turns that did not serve the interests of our countries”.